Monroe

Just thought I'd throw this in for reading or discussion. I've always wondered about olive oil, since I mostly use that today. I had read a few years ago that it might not be pure or could be "doctored up" in "off name" brands with it being so expensive. This article I read today mentions olive oil and some other foods in the US but it could be happening anywhere. I guess buying a brand name company might solve the problem of getting a good product. This small paragraph is from the article: The top fraudster foods: olive oil. Even the extra-virgin kind is the most adulterated food, usually cut by hazelnut oil, which could pose a dangerous threat to those with nut-allergies. Tea bags are sometimes being filled with lawn grass. More expensive white tuna is switched for cheaper escolar. 'Food fraud' a growing problem in grocery stores http://www.khou.com/news/health/Food-fraud-a-growing-problem-in-grocery-stores-236733491.html by KING 5 HealthLInk December 20, 2013 If you are what you eat, you could be having an identity crisis. Foods we eat every day could include ingredients that aren't supposed to be the there. It's called "food fraud" and its a growing problem. Fish, honey, milk, orange juice, and olive oil - what do they all have in common? They top the list when it comes to food fraud. Cheap imitations are filling up grocery store shelves. "One of the ways that happens is by substituting one ingredient for another. It's hard for consumers," said Dr. Mark Stoeckle, a Senior Research Associate in the Program for the Human Environment at The Rockefeller University. High cost ingredients are especially susceptible to fraud, says Stoeckle. More expensive products are being replaced with cheaper imposters. The top fraudster foods: olive oil. Even the extra-virgin kind is the most adulterated food, usually cut by hazelnut oil, which could pose a dangerous threat to those with nut-allergies. Even milk can contain added sugar and salt, and skim powder - none of it listed on the label. Tea bags are sometimes being filled with lawn grass. More expensive white tuna is switched for cheaper escolar. Your favorite juice is mostly apple, even if it's labeled blueberry or cranberry. Honey is also one of the most common faux foods. Some are diluted with sugar syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup. And according to Food Safety News, some honey being shipped from China is laced with antiobiotics and heavy metals. Marianne Petrino sells her own honey at the farmers market. But if you can't make your own, how do you protect yourself and your family? First, buy a whole lemon instead of lemon juice. Buy loose leaf tea instead of tea bags. Purchase whole spices, but don't buy into the newest food trend. And most importantly, rely on reputable sources you can trust. That means buying locally, if you can. Activitists believe there also needs to be a push for more testing and regulation on foods coming from overseas.

Ok ... I can see that the "alternate" daily storage backup is the way to go for everyone but for my situation (very small scale!) I do the once or twice a month image backup. If I had to reinstall XP from scratch, it would be a disaster for me big time. Having to install all the software, all the settings and tweaks ... not something I want to even think about. I wonder with the Bitcoins involved and not traceable as to where the money went, if that will bring "law enforcement" and governments demanding all that be changed ... have to see how all that plays out with the Bitcoin future. Have another question since I mentioned an "image backup" ... if the BIOS does get infected with a virus then the image backup would be usless or not? ... an image backup only backs up the C drive and nothing else, at least to my knowledge? ...

I've been hearing about this "Cryptolocker Ransomware" for several months happening to various people. Seems like the simple solution is to not open a strange e-mail. Cryptolocker Ransomware Being Described As ‘The Perfect Crime’ Chief Correspondent Joe Shortsleeve, WBZ-TV December 18, 2013 http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/12/18/cryptolocker-ransomware-being-described-as-the-perfect-crime/ BOSTON (CBS) — It is being called the perfect crime and it has law enforcement around the globe baffled. It all starts with a simple email. “They are scared and they are angry. It is a real terrible experience for them.” Joe Ruthaford is talking about computer users who mistakenly launched a potent internet phishing scheme. He recently saw one of those ravaged computers in his Beacon Hill repair shop. “It is extremely damaging. It is one of the worst ones.” It’s called cryptolocker ransomware. Kevin Swindon is with the FBI in Boston. “I would think about this particular type of malware as what would happen if your computer was destroyed,” Swindon said. In the past 90 days, thousands of people worldwide have opened a seemingly innocuous link to track a holiday package. Suddenly, all the files on their computer are encrypted. Joan Goodchild is the editor of “CSO,” Chief Security Officer magazine based in Framingham. “This is a criminal operation. They are holding your folders and files ransom. We call this ransomware because that is exactly what it is. You need to pay in order to have access to them once again.” And that is exactly what happened last month at the Swansea Police Department. Cryptolocker ransomware took over the department’s entire computer system and the police were forced to pay a $750 ransom to get back control. As the ransomware takes over your computer, a countdown clock appears and shows victims how long they have to pay up. That means purchasing a key, or software, to reverse the process. And victims must do that using the online virtual currency known as bitcoins. “Once you have purchased a bitcoin, then the transaction that you use that bitcoin in is encrypted, and therefore you cannot trace it,” explained Goodchild. Swindon says it appears to be the perfect crime. The FBI tells WBZ-TV they are very worried about this spreading in 2014. The scheme could be the work of organized gangs overseas. So far, no one has been caught. --------------------------------------- OK ... notice the Bitcoins are involved but I have a simple question ... if a person's computer were to get hit with this virus and a person has an "image backup" handy and has important files backed up on a flash drive (with no virus of course) then just a redo of the image backup should bring the machine back to a "perfect state" and no ransom to pay ... right? Of course, my important files are small compared to a business or a police department ... so I can see a problem there. If this virus doesn't get into the BIOS then the image backup should work, if I understand this thing. ...

Just on a small scale now but maybe ... "In the PNNL process, a slurry of wet algae is pumped into the front end of a chemical reactor. Once the system is up and running, out comes crude oil in less than an hour, along with water and a byproduct stream of material containing phosphorus that can be recycled to grow more algae." Scientists Manufacture Biofuel from Algae in Minutes 18 Dec 2013 http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/12/18/Scientists-Manufacture-Crude-Oil-The-End-of-Peak-Oil A new scientific discovery that takes algae and turns it into crude oil in minutes rather than millions of years could be the end of constant worries over "peak oil." Engineers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) announced that they have created a process that takes an enriched stew of algae and turns it into crude oil which, in turn, can be made into a usable bio-fuel. The development was announced in a recent issue of the journal Algal Research. Genifuel Corp., a biofuels company from Utah, has licensed the technology and is attempting to utilize the process on a larger, industrial scale. a little more at the link ...

It seems this little piece of plastic was "possibly" at work at Target on Black Friday and beyond ... look at the magnitude of the operation ... all over the country, how could that many people be involved without being seen or noticed? ... getting near cash registers for the time required to install or hook something up. "The theft was national in scope and happened in stores, not online, and may have involved tampering with the machines customers use to swipe their cards when making purchases, people familiar with the matter said." Target Hit by Credit-Card Breach Updated Dec. 19, 2013 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304773104579266743230242538 Target Corp. was hit by an extensive theft of its customers' credit-card and debit-card data over the busy Black Friday weekend, a brazen breach of the major retailer's information security. The company early Thursday confirmed a data breach may have affected about 40 million credit- and debit-card accounts between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. Target said it alerted authorities and financial institutions immediately after it found out about the unauthorized access. It added that it is partnering with a forensics firm to conduct an investigation into the incident. -------------------------------------------- Target: 40M card accounts may be breached http://wtop.com/628/3527975/Target-40M-accounts-may-be-involved-in-breach

"Some researchers have discovered that they can learn a great deal by just listening to your computer." This just gets worse by the day. So now we need a "scrambler" of some sort in our computers or just play Britney Spears music real loud all day ! ... JorgeA had it right, put a bandage over the camera and microphone. I like these ... they look better than a bandage ... Self-Stick Round Felt Pads http://www.amazon.com/Waxman-Self-Stick-Round-Brown-8-Inch/dp/B000VYN7CS/ref=sr_1_1/189-8537245-9922643?ie=UTF8&qid=1387455616&sr=8-1&keywords=small+felt+pads ...

If anyone is interested blank DVDs ... earlier I posted that Amazon had Verbatim DVDs for sale at $20.95 ... just checking at the site for prices and the Verbatim + and - DVDs are now $16.95 for a 100 pack. I have never seen them priced that low. I did order some earlier and the ones I got were manufactured in Taiwan. Have no idea how long they have been priced at $16.95 so that could change in 10 minutes or tomorrow or anytime. I just mention it for anyone needing some DVDs. I don't know if they could go lower, I would think they would go back up in price but maybe blank DVD prices are dropping. Verbatim DVD+R 4.7GB http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-97459-to16x-Branded-Recordable/dp/B003ZDNZSS/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1387370326&sr=8-9&keywords=dvd+blank I made a mistake earlier and said the Verbatim DVDs that I got were made in Thailand ... they were made in Taiwan.

Someone mentioned the Qt Web Browser maybe two months ago in an XP thread. I have been using it along with K-Meleon and I actually like it. If anyone wants to check it out ... maybe it won't be what you're looking for. Qt Web Browser http://qtweb.net/ Qt Web Internet Browser - lightweight, fast, secure & portable browser for web QtWeb Internet Browser - lightweight, secure and portable browser having unique user interface and privacy features. QtWeb is an open source project based on Nokia's Qt framework and Apple's WebKit rendering engine (the same as being used in Apple Safari and Google Chrome). QtWeb is so compact and self-sufficient (not much dependencies), that it operates perfectly in bootable Windows (WinPE-based) and Linux environments (LiveCD) and has been used in many freeware and shareware projects, like Active@ Boot Disk. Customizable User Interface: * Change Application Style on the fly, and see how the program and websites look under different versions of Windows and Unix environment * Move Navigation Bar and Bookmarks Bar anywhere within a mainframe, or even undock and place them on the Desktop * Customize web search providers, menu titles, assign hot keys and your favorite shortcuts to any menu commands * Show/Hide toolbar buttons and toolbars themselves (Menu Bar, Navigation Bar, Status Bar, Bookmarks Bar, Tab Bar) * Tabbed browsing by default. User Interface can be switched to non-tabbed Privacy and Security features * Turn on Private Browsing mode to avoid leaving traces of browsing, even UserAgent which is being sent to the web server is masked * Easy access to most privacy functions via toolbar buttons, Privacy menu and customizable keyboard shortcuts * Supported SSL to access secure sites. Certificate information and certification path can be displayed * Full Reset feature - clears all caches and restores all local settings to the state just after installation, as it was never run on the machine * AdBlock function allows to hide most disturbing advertisements and block web counters which slow down browser's performance while webpage loading Lightweight, fast and portable browser: * Size of executable is 6 MB only, no additional DLLs and other configuration files required * Single portable EXE file - QtWeb.exe, that can be copied to and run from USB * Scripting support allows any web page (including JavaScripted ones) to be loaded and dumped into a file from a command line * Can be run in limited Windows environment (Win PE), like Active@ Boot Disk, or BartPE running from CD/DVD/USB * Buit-in Torrent client allows to download files via torrents exchange protocol

Yesterday I asked dencorso about maybe changing the title of this thread to something mostly just dealing with XP updates. I started the thread in November when I was having problems with the MS November updates and then found a solution. However, it is now December and with the new updates just released, it seemed like November was "old news" ... plus there have been many people reading the thread. I thought maybe this would be a good place to come for all future XP updates to talk about update problems or news that all of us might have an interest in. Make it easy for everyone to keep informed on any problems or solutions. ...

That's funny ... "a centimeter is a centimeter" and so forth ... but maybe not ! Microsoft PowerPoint uses an invisible grid. The grid's conversion ratio from inches to centimeters is: 1 in = 2.4 cm This is different from the accepted standard conversion ratio from inches to centimeters, which is: 1 in = 2.54 cm ...

Well I was just as the M$ update site for XP and I see M$ released a new update yesterday ... Dec 12th. Just a heads up for anyone that installed updates on Tue Dec 10th or Wed Dec 11th, you better run an update check again. This is the new update showing up for me: Security Update for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (KB2917500) ... 12/12/2013 I keep checking every so often and always a day or two before the new updates are released on Update Tuesday.

Well all I actually did was uninstall those older Time Zone Updates using "Add - Remove" in the Control Panel. I didn't go into the registry unless when you uninstall an update using "Add - Remove" that will possibly remove items from the registry. Being that I have an image backup with the XP Nov updates I may experiment reinstalling the older Time Zone updates up to the current Dec 2013 TZ update and I will just try installing only the new Dec TZ update and not bothering with the older TZ updates that I have already removed. Thanks for the input ... I just saw the word "Cumulative" and really didn't read all that extra information.

I have made a discovery with the Dec 2013 updates ... there is a December 2013 Cumulative Time Zone Update (KB2904266). The last Cumulative Time Zone Update was in August 2013. In October I decided to delete some older updates including some of the older Time Zone updates since they always have the word "Cumulative" in the description but today after looking at the December TZ Update and reading the fine print under the "Important" paragraph ... I now read that the "older" Time Zone Updates probably should not be deleted ... Cumulative has always meant to me that with a newer update, everything has been carried forward from older updates into the newer update but this doesn't appear to be so with Time Zone Updates. This is from the December 2013 Cumulative Time Zone Update "fine print" ... Just like to have some input from others ... I am reading that maybe older Time Zone updates should NOT be removed even though a newer TZ Update has the word Cumulative in it's description. Just keep adding newer future releases to all the older updates or am I missing something? I have just searched back to where I removed the older updates and have downloaded all the updates that I need to reinstall. This description for the October 2012 Cumulative Time Zone Update does indicate that it is replacing two earlier TZ Updates ... December 2011 and August 2012 so that is where I will start to get current to December 2013. Do others read this the same as I'm reading ... like I said, some input / thoughts more than welcome.

Just reading this about the NSA using tracking cookies ... can it all be that "simple" ? So if a person constantly deletes "cookies" and "flash cookies" as they spend time online, problem solved, right? Probably not, I'll let you regulars post or talk more about this and the cookies ... perhaps they are "super special" cookies that cannot be easily found or deleted. New Snowden docs claim NSA uses 'cookies' to select surveillance targets December 11, 2013 http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/12/11/new-snowden-docs-claim-nsa-uses-cookies-to-select-surveillance-targets/?intcmp=latestnews New documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden say that the agency is using small tracking files, known as "cookies," to help select targets for hacking and broader surveillance. The Washington Post reports that the NSA and its British counterpart, GCHQ, are using the cookies to identify people browsing the Internet. The files contain numeric codes that enable websites to identify a specific person's browser. According to slides leaked by Snowden to The Post, a particular cookie can also allow the NSA to single out an individual's online communications and send out software that can hack the person's computer. In particular, the report claims that the NSA has gotten much use out of the Google-specific "PREF" cookie, which is assigned to a browser anytime a connection is made to one of the Google's Web properties or services. ... more at the link, as I asked earlier, can it really be this simple? I mainly use the K-Meleon browser with Cookies Manager and then I have a flash cookie remover program ... periodically I clean out everything while online. Also CCleaner does a cleanup also. In regards to those "flash cookies", sometimes when I check those out, I have some really strange cookies in there, all numbers and letters, weird looking stuff. Flash Cookies Cleaner 1.2 Removes every Flash Cookie from your system http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Secure-cleaning/Flash-Cookies-Cleaner.shtml September 21st, 2012 Flash Cookies Cleaner is a compact application designed to scan your computer for the cookies saved by the Adobe Flash Player application in order to remove them. These cookies, also known as Local Shared Objects, are responsible for remembering the volume level on Flash video players and other settings for each website. If you are not comfortable with having these settings saved on your computer you might want to delete them. The problem is that these cookies are not removed in the same way you clean the cookies saved by your browser. Actually, completely cleaning the browser has no effect on these items.

From what I'm reading the XP updates for Dec can only be had if you first get the Dec Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP (KB2898785) ... just like November, install and then go back to the update site to get the rest of the Dec updates. Here is the Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP (KB2898785) if anyone needs it to get all the updates ... I'm taking a pass on this month's updates but I haven't checked them yet to see if there is really anything I need or I could just wait till Jan or Feb. Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP (KB2898785) http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=41404 I always assume everyone is using IE8 with their XP setup but for anyone using IE6 here's the link: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer for Windows XP (KB2898785) http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=41458

Just spotted this in reference to Bitcoins ... JPMorgan Files Patent for Bitcoin-style Payment System December 10, 2013 By Tracy Alloway in New York http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e230307a-61c4-11e3-aa02-00144feabdc0.html JPMorgan Chase has filed a US patent application for a computerised payment system that resembles some aspects of Bitcoin, the controversial virtual currency. Like Bitcoin, JPMorgan’s proposed system would allow people to make anonymous, electronic payments over the internet, without having to reveal their name or account numbers or pay a fee, according to the patent application. The application put a spotlight on the behind-the-scenes battle being waged between the biggest banks, credit card operators and companies such as Google, Apple and PayPal – are all keen to grab a slice of the rapidly expanding business of providing mobile and internet payments as more people shift to online buying. At the same time, traditional finance companies have had to contend with new types of virtual currencies, which some people view as viable alternative payment systems that could one day challenge the biggest banks and credit cards. ... a little more to read at the link, I guess more changes are coming, good or bad. It says the original patent was filed in 1999 but I guess they did some updating. "JPMorgan said in its patent application – which dates back to 1999 but was recently updated – that the new payment system would compete with debit and credit cards as the predominant way of making online transactions."

Thanks Charlotte for some in depth information on the camera spying topic. I guess this is all good education for many of us as to just how bad things have gotten in the world ... I'm all for catching criminals and such but the nets are pulling up more than just "tuna" ... and the abuse has to be a main concern. I thought what you posted about Skype ... the image was a joke, but it's for real I guess ... seems very easy to do and all at the web site out in the open. Hack Skype Webcams http://hackskypewebcam.com/ Skype WebCam hacking software - Free Skype Webcam Hacking Hack as many Skype webcams as you want, all for free! That’s because we are now making Skype Webcam Hacker available for free download as part of our promotional campaign. Take advantage of this offer by downloading our Skype webcam hacking software for free while you still can! -------- I don't have a Skype setup but now others can be aware of what might be going on unless this is really a "joke" of some kind ... looks real to me. All my notebooks are older with no cameras installed and my cell phone is from 2004, with no camera ... I still have the phone because I have a "Voice - Data" plan combined just before the companies decided they could make more money if they split Voice and Data for the future. My notebooks connect into my phone through a USB cable. I'm still in the "stone age" I guess and with everything working just fine - I plan to stay there as long as my equipment keeps working. Maybe this is one time when "old" is better than "new". ...

JorgeA ... I was thinking last night after I posted the FBI camera spying thing ... of course the article only mentions the FBI but there could be other government agencies involved in this type of spying. In my head I'm wondering how are they able to do this ? ... they (FBI or whatever) would have to get into a person's computer to install some sort of software to operate the camera without the light being on ... so anyone the FBI or whoever wants to "spy" on would have to track down a computer owned by that individual to install some sort of software. However, with millions of computers scattered around wouldn't it make more sense that maybe "all" these computers already have the software installed ... a secret agreement or "handshake" between computer manufacturers and the NSA, FBI or other secret agencies. We may all have this software already installed on our computers only needing to be quietly activated by some agency when they desire to do so. I remember reading in an earlier post that some at the NSA were listening in on private calls by girlfriends or spouses to see who they were talking to. So all this spying isn't all for "national security". Anyone fully understand how they can operate the camera without the light being on? What a country we have become. ...

Well this is nice to know ... the FBI must have one nice collection of "sex tapes" and other stuff to pass around the office !!! ... something to do on the slow days! From now on a person will have to put a "band-aid" over the camera since the light will not be on but is the camera on ... who knows ? FBI Can Secretly Activate an Individual’s Webcam Without the Indicator Light Turning On http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/07/the-fbi-can-secretly-activate-an-individuals-webcam-without-the-indicator-light-turning-on/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=ShareButtons Ex-Official Says FBI Can Secretly Activate an Individual’s Webcam Without the Indicator Light Turning On Dec. 7, 2013 - Oliver Darcy The FBI can secretly activate a computer’s webcam to spy on an individual without turning on the indicator light, a former official revealed to the Washington Post in an article published Friday. According to the Washington Post’s account of what Marcus Thomas — former assistant director of the FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico — said, “The FBI has been able to covertly activate a computer’s camera — without triggering the light that lets users know it is recording — for several years, and has used that technique mainly in terrorism cases or the most serious criminal investigations.” “Because of encryption and because targets are increasingly using mobile devices, law enforcement is realizing that more and more they’re going to have to be on the device — or in the cloud,” Thomas added, in reference to remote storage services. “There’s the realization out there that they’re going to have to use these types of tools more and more.” TheBlaze has previously reported on hackers using remote access tools to activate an individual’s webcam and spy on them. ...

My My ... people not knowing if a $2 bill is for real in the US ... but then a few weeks ago I was reading that various people were asked recently to name the President or Vice President and many seem to have no clue! I like the idea of the poll in reference to the 7.5 million dollars. I would have to pick "A" but I could also pick "C" ... I could wait two hours !

We have common ground on what you posted ... I could also use 7.5 million dollars right about now and it wouldn't have to be gold or Benjamins ... all small bills would work for me !

OK I see your post goes back to Aug 2011 ... I don't think I knew much about the Bitcoin thing till this year. I googled "bitcoin theft" and that is an eye opener. I don't see where having Bitcoins is a "safe" or "lose no sleep" type of thing and I can still see a Bitcoin web site just vanish one day. I'm with you, I'd rather have those Benjamins in my pocket or in a jar buried in the back yard and not a "flash drive" full of Bitcoins buried in the back yard. I'd be afraid when I went to dig it up one day, I'd just have a nice old "flash drive relic" and not much else. They are hacking and stealing Bitcoins everywhere doing the Google search.

Sorry, didn't see that CharlotteTheHarlot had already made mention of this on Nov 28th in Post #4649 of Windows 8 - Deeper. I don't think I can completely delete this post but perhaps a moderator can do so or just let it slowly fade away on it's own.

I really don't know too much about the Bitcoin thing ... have read about it here and there ... I don't have any. Could this someday be like the "tulip investing bubble" in Holland and Europe in the 1600's? I would think the owners of the landfill may be looking for that hard drive. Man Throws Away 7,500 Bitcoins, Now Worth $7.5 Million November 29, 2013 http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/11/29/man-throws-away-7500-bitcoins-now-worth-7-5-million/ CARDIFF, Wales (CBS DC) – A British man says he threw out a hard drive that had 7,500 bitcoins on it, worth over $7.5 million as of Wednesday. James Howells of Wales purchased the suddenly skyrocketing Internet currency for almost nothing back in 2009. He says he likely threw out the hard drive sometime over the summer, and only recently remembered what was on it. “You know when you put something in the [trash], and in your head, say to yourself ‘that’s a bad idea’? I really did have that,” Howells, who works in IT, told the Guardian. A few months after Bitcoin’s launch, Howells created a computer program to “mine” the digital currency. He later spilled lemonade on that laptop, so he dismantled it for parts, keeping the hard drive in a drawer for three years. The drive contains the cryptographic “key” that is necessary to access and spend the Bitcoins. Without that key, the “money” cannot be spent and is lost forever. It was just this past summer that he went through his belongings and threw out the hard drive, thinking it was junk. When he realized his mistake, Howells searched all his storage devices for a backup copy but could not find one. Then he went down to the landfill with the idea of digging for it, but was told it’s not as simple as going in with a shovel. “Even for the police to find something, they need a team of 15 guys, two diggers, and all the personal protection equipment. So for me to fund that, it’s not possible without the guarantee of money at the end.” But he’s still hopeful that someone may find the hard drive, and split the take with him. “If they were to offer me a share, fair enough,” he said. “If they were to go out and find it for themselves … it’s my mistake throwing the hard drive out, at the end of the day.”

Hope I didn't miss this if this was already mentioned in the past, I didn't spot anything. The Telegraph The Internet Mystery That Has the World Baffled By Chris Bell 25 Nov 2013 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html For the past two years, a mysterious online organisation has been sending the world's finest code-breakers a series of seemingly unsolvable problems. But to what end? Welcome to the world of Cicada 3301. One evening in January last year, Joel Eriksson, a 34-year-old computer analyst from Uppsala in Sweden, was trawling the web, looking for distraction, when he came across a message on an internet forum. The message was in stark white type, against a black background. “Hello,” it said. “We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test. There is a message hidden in this image. Find it, and it will lead you on the road to finding us. We look forward to meeting the few that will make it all the way through. Good luck.” The message was signed: "3301”. A self-confessed IT security "freak” and a skilled cryptographer, Eriksson’s interest was immediately piqued. This was – he knew – an example of digital steganography: the concealment of secret information within a digital file. Most often seen in conjunction with image files, a recipient who can work out the code – for example, to alter the colour of every 100th pixel – can retrieve an entirely different image from the randomised background "noise”. It’s a technique more commonly associated with nefarious ends, such as concealing child pornography. In 2002 it was suggested that al-Qaeda operatives had planned the September 11 attacks via the auction site eBay, by encrypting messages inside digital photographs. Sleepily – it was late, and he had work in the morning – Eriksson thought he’d try his luck decoding the message from "3301”. After only a few minutes work he’d got somewhere: a reference to "Tiberius Claudius Caesar” and a line of meaningless letters. Joel deduced it might be an embedded "Caesar cipher” – an encryption technique named after Julius Caesar, who used it in private correspondence. It replaces characters by a letter a certain number of positions down the alphabet. As Claudius was the fourth emperor, it suggested "four” might be important – and lo, within minutes, Eriksson found another web address buried in the image’s code. Feeling satisfied, he clicked the link. It was a picture of a duck with the message: "Woops! Just decoys this way. Looks like you can’t guess how to get the message out.” "If something is too easy or too routine, I quickly lose interest,” says Eriksson. "But it seemed like the challenge was a bit harder than a Caesar cipher after all. I was hooked.” Eriksson didn’t realise it then, but he was embarking on one of the internet’s most enduring puzzles; a scavenger hunt that has led thousands of competitors across the web, down telephone lines, out to several physical locations around the globe, and into unchartered areas of the "darknet”. So far, the hunt has required a knowledge of number theory, philosophy and classical music. An interest in both cyberpunk literature and the Victorian occult has also come in handy as has an understanding of Mayan numerology. It has also featured a poem, a tuneless guitar ditty, a femme fatale called "Wind” who may, or may not, exist in real life, and a clue on a lamp post in Hawaii. Only one thing is certain: as it stands, no one is entirely sure what the challenge – known as Cicada 3301 – is all about or who is behind it. Depending on who you listen to, it’s either a mysterious secret society, a statement by a new political think tank, or an arcane recruitment drive by some quasi-military body. Which means, of course, everyone thinks it’s the CIA. For some, it’s just a fun game, like a more complicated Sudoku; for others, it has become an obsession. Almost two years on, Eriksson is still trying to work out what it means for him. "It is, ultimately, a battle of the brains,” he says. "And I have always had a hard time resisting a challenge.” ... article is quite long with some pictures.