The question is whether they have the same iron grip, or if they would eventually fall

Eh, at least you can get paid very well in Switzerland. The amount of money I was saving every month working there was more than I could expect after tax in parts of the EU..

Do... do rocks just spontaneously appear in the ground in his world? Like how people used to think frogs came into being

Paywalled, so (apologies for any formatting errors, done on my phone):

A Critical Deadline Is Approaching for Windows and Linux Security The cryptographic keys that secure your computer's boot sequence will start to expire on June 24. Here's what that means for you.

The clock is ticking for Windows and Linux users to update cryptographic keys that protect their systems against firmware-based UEFI infections, a pernicious form of malware that loads before operating system and antimalware protections start.

Beginning June 24, three certificates that cryptographically verify that each piece of firmware and software that loads during system boot will expire. The Microsoft-signed certificates are the linchpins of Secure Boot, a Microsoft-designed chain of trust. Secure Boot checks the digital signatures of all firmware that loads during system startup to ensure it originates from a trusted provider, such as the manufacturer of the motherboard the system runs on.

Secure Boot is designed to thwart UEFI bootkits, a form of malware that alters the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, the successor to the BIOS, both of which begin the initial boot sequence. Because these bootkits load before the OS and most other code, they can be difficult to detect. Once installed, they typically load malware onto the OS that steals credentials, backdoors the system, or performs other malicious actions. Even when the OS is disinfected, the bootkit can reinfect the system. Bootkits survive OS reinstallations as well.

A Brief History of Bootkits

The genesis of bootkits dates back to the early 1980s with the creation of several pieces of malware that targeted Apple II machines during the boot process. They spread in the wild through floppy disks that ostensibly contained pirated games.

Windows bootkits gained notice in the early 2000s as proofs of concept developed by researchers of offensive security. BootRoot, a bootkit demonstrated at the 2005 Black Hat security conference, is likely the first such instance. The malware infected the Network Driver Interface, which streamlined communications between network protocol drivers enabling service such as TCP/IP network adapter drivers. In the years following, similar PoCs included Vbootkit, the Stoned Bootkit, and Mebroot. There were many more.

In 2012, a new form of bootkit was demonstrated. Instead of targeting machines through the BIOS or master boot record, one such bootkit attacked Mac OS X systems by infecting the EFI, a package of firmware that started the boot process. A second very primitive bootkit targeted Windows 8 machines by infecting the​​ UEFI bootkit, the predecessor to the UEFI. Around 2013, a researcher demonstrated a more advanced UEFI bootkit for Windows named Dreamboat.

The first known case of a real-world attack targeting the UEFI came in 2018 with the discovery of malware dubbed LoJax. A repurposed version of legitimate anti-theft software known as LoJack, it was created by the Kremlin-backed hacking group tracked under names including Sednit, Fancy Bear, and APT 28. The malware was installed remotely using malware tools that can read and overwrite parts of the UEFI firmware’s flash memory.

In 2020, researchers unearthed the second known instance of real-world malware attacking the UEFI. Each time an infected device rebooted, its UEFI checked whether a malicious file was present in the Windows startup folder and, if not, installed it. Researchers from Kaspersky, the security provider that discovered the malware, named it “MosaicRegressor.” Researchers have yet to determine how the compromised UEFIs became infected. Since then, a handful of new UEFI bootkits have come to light. They are tracked under names including ESpecter, FinSpy, and MoonBounce.

Necessity Is the Mother of Invention

In response to the more menacing threat of UEFI bootkits, Microsoft worked with device makers to develop Secure Boot, an industry-wide standard that uses cryptographic signatures to ensure that each piece of firmware loaded during startup is trusted by a computer’s manufacturer. Secure Boot is designed to create a chain of trust that prevents attackers from replacing the intended bootup firmware with malicious firmware. If a single link in the startup chain isn’t recognized, Secure Boot will prevent the device from starting.

Then in 2023, researchers discovered LogoFail, a series of critical vulnerabilities found UEFIs booting up just about every Windows and Linux system in the world. An image-parsing bug in the software that presented hardware manufacturers’ logos during bootup allowed attackers to bypass Secure Boot and infect the UEFI with malicious firmware.

The discovery of LogoFail requires Microsoft to replace the existing cryptographic signatures underpinning Secure Boot with new ones. Three older signatures, which are dated 2011, are being removed. In their place are ones dated 2023. Microsoft is in the process of updating Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines. Linux distributors are also in the process of updating “shims,” a small, first-stage UEFI bootloader that acts as a trusted bridge between Secure Boot keys and the Linux bootloader.

Machines that fail to update the Secure Boot-related keys will continue to function, but they will no longer be protected against new UEFI threats. To be clear, they were already vulnerable to new UEFI threats that exploited the industry-wide LogoFail vulnerability. The key refresh is designed to mitigate that risk and prevent unrelated UEFI attacks that may arise in the future.

To check the status of the keys on Windows machines, users can open Windows Security settings > Device Security > Secure Boot. A green checkmark means the update has been completed. Most Windows machines automatically update the keys during regular monthly patch distributions, but older machines may require manual attention. Linux users should watch for the release of new shims.

Microsoft recommends people stay current with all firmware updates, because they’re sometimes needed for Secure Boot certificates to update smoothly. The company has more information on applying firmware updates here.

Jeg har flyttet en del gange de sidste par år, og flytter igen om et par måneder. Hvis jeg havde en mere stabil bolig havde jeg virkelig også købt aircon. Det er for varmt i Frankrig i disse dage, jeg orker nærmest ikke at være udenfor mellem 10 og 18

This "stranglehold" only happened because of the US and Israel. Iran's actions seem pretty sensible considering how we got to where we are today.

I've gone days after an interaction with a cashier or similar (i.e. someone who will have forgotten our interaction two minutes later) thinking about how the phrase I used was dumb or weird.

With people I know it's even worse. I get "remember that time you said that weird thing" a year later.. it sucks.

In the EU, plenty of national ID systems exist. A world where a unified standard exists for these systems and I can just use the "EU login" standard instead of having to rely on a specific (usually American) vendor to manage my auth would be great.

I can't even get two mains in Geneva for 35€ (well, CHF) most of the time 😅

Yeah, I've slept with someone quite a few times who is married, has kids, and is open about the whole thing. I've met the husband, I have no feelings for him one way or another (he seems like a decent enough guy, but he's not a friend).
But the humiliation I'll pass on, thanks

I empathise and understand! I'm pretty awkward with people I don't know, so meeting new ones is a challenge to be honest.

I spent a year and a half living with my closest buddy in an amazing apartment, and it was quite honestly spectacular. Will be moving cities again after summer, and will put in effort to get a good flatmate situation going.

Are you ok? Are you talking about just the whole process of waking up, or that waking up means facing the world once more?

Yeah, exactly. If I could end up in a situation like this longterm, I'd be happy.

For a while in my early 20s, I was staying with a friend of my parents because I just moved to a new city and she offered. She has a small house, as part of an enclave of about 20 houses built around a big common area, including workspaces, a massive kitchen and other amenities. They had a cooking schedule, so everyone in the 20 houses cooks at some point for the entire little community, and you just show up at dinner time for a meal if you're not cooking that day. It's super well organized and everyone seemed pretty happy with the setup.

I LOVED it. If I could achieve or find that one day I'd never leave..

Feels like the US is the muscle, not the head, in this

I have no idea what you're trying to convey here, sorry.

Oh, I'm an introvert too, but I also suck at being the one to ask friends to do things or go places, so its easier to just have them hanging around at home essentially. But I also have plenty of options for getting away from home, so I don't feel trapped that way

Don't put this on the rest of us. Most of Europe has no ill intent towards Cuba, we'd be happy to see them grow into a prospering nation, ideally without sacrificing too much along the way (like essentially giving control of their economy to the US or China).

Ugh, is coconut oil also terrible for the local environment then, like palm oil? What a shame.

Well, yeah. As with all other people interactions, if the people you interact with suck it's going to have a negative impact 😅

But in a decade and a half of living with other people like this, not once has rent been an issue.

The solution to the taxi problem is not Uber, it's functional public transport. I'm nearing 40 and I've taken probably less than 20 cab rides in my home country in my life (traveling to countries with poor public transport is a different story). And I grew up in the middle of nowhere.

Airbnb is trickier. It's done good things for travelling, but terrible things for housing affordability in popular locations. Tourist towns have priced out locals because investors buy apartments to rent out via some broker.