Some IT guy, IDK.

  • 3 Posts
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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 5th, 2023

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  • I would OCR it myself, but edit the meta data in the file so that the text in the OCR metadata is lorem ipsum.

    So any bots that assume that the OCR text is what’s on the image in the PDF (and why wouldn’t they), it will only read useless junk. Only someone reading the text from the image would “see” it, and only a bot programmed to OCR a file that already has OCR metadata would realize that there’s any inconsistency.

    I’m not entirely sure how to accomplish that, but I’d figure it out if I was worried about the data being compromised.

    Personally, I would simply keep the file in an encrypted container, then I wouldn’t worry about what can scan the file since it would be entirely unreadable ciphertext without the correct security key or passphrase.


  • This works, right up until you introduce PDF compatible software that doesn’t give a shit about your rules, of which there’s plenty.

    You can also print/scan, or even print to PDF to get around such limitations. The original document cannot be altered since that would invalidate the digital signature on the file, but you can create a perfect digital copy, omitting the signature, and modify it however you want.

    If online systems that are skimming documents for their contents don’t give a shit about what the signature is, and simply take a copy and OCR it to train an AI or amalgamate the information for data harvesting or other purposes.

    I get what you’re saying and in concept, it should be fine, the problem is that it’s a software lock/restriction on a file type that isn’t inherently closed source, unknown, nor was the PDF format built to be secure from the ground up. So we’re applying security to a system that wasn’t built for it.






  • One thing that was recommended to me by someone a while ago, is that, unless you need it for something specific, mount your media in Plex as read only.

    Plex has functions where you can delete content from the library from their UI. If you need that for some reason, obviously don’t make it read only. If you’re hoarding the data, and therefore never delete it, or use an external system for deleting files, then RO all the way.

    The only caveat to this is if you’re using a local disk on the Plex system, which then shares out the drive/folder for adding new content, in which case, you’re screwed. It has to be rw so the OS can add/remove data.

    In my case, as I think may be common (or at least, not rare), my back end data for Plex Media is on a NAS, so it’s easy to simply have the system running Plex, mount that network share as RO, and you’re done. The data on the NAS can be accessed and managed by other systems RW, direct to the NAS.

    Since Plex is exposed to the internet, if anyone with sufficient rights is compromised, in theory, an attacker could delete the entire contents of your media folder with it. If you limit RW access to internal systems only, then that risk can be effectively mitigated.


  • Don’t argue with the court or the judge, keep your personal comments to yourself. If you disagree with the ruling, keep your mouth shut about it, thank the judge regardless of the outcome.

    A lot of “turn the other cheek” applies here. Anything less and you will be held in contempt of court and it will make things worse.

    Listen carefully, speak when it’s your turn to speak, don’t talk over anyone, especially the judge.

    Beyond that, be honest, and don’t conceal the truth. Do everything you can to be a good participant in the system. Arrive early and if you can, watch what others do and learn from their actions. What they do, what they say, and especially what not to say or do.

    You’ll be fine at the end of the day.

    Also renew your damn license ASAP. Don’t drive the vehicle that got the infraction (duh), and if possible, get a ride to the courthouse and back again, whether that’s a friend, a taxi, an Uber/Lyft, it doesn’t matter. If the judge decides to put you in jail (unlikely, but possible) you don’t have to worry about your vehicle being towed or something, and you won’t get additional fines as you travel there.

    All the best OP. You got this.



  • The sponsorships should be for companies that thrive because they make products that increase global warming (or use them), which is most companies, so I digress.

    It should also be an involuntary thing. Getting a natural disaster assigned to you should be a badge of shame, and any company named for it should be obligated to help with relief efforts.

    Given the negative PR and cost for providing relief, I’m betting that quite a few would clean things up pretty quickly so they don’t earn the badge of shame. Maybe enough to slow or stop global climate change.

    But all of this requires that we care more about people and the climate than we do about corporations and their profits. Since it’s been made clear that the government is basically bought and owned by corporate interests, this will never happen.

    The solution is to supplant the existing government with one that actually represents the interests of the people that live in the country, not the corporations.



  • APC makes low end offline UPS units, which are cheap garbage.

    They also make line interactive and online ups units, which are decidedly not completely garbage.

    I pick up line interactive APC units from used locations like eBay, and go buy off label replacement batteries. Haven’t had any problems with them so far.

    To date, over the last ~10 years of running a homelab, I have used mainly SMT 1500 units, one was a rack mount. I’ve recently upgraded to an SMX2000. I’ve replaced batteries, but never a UPS, and never any server components due to power issues. I’ve run servers ranging from a Dell PE 2950, to a full c6100 chassis, plus several networking devices, including firewalls, routers and PoE switches. Not a single power related issue with any of them.





  • The same reason that filament based incandescent bulbs burned out. Planned obsolescence.

    There’s a very real conspiracy (not just a theory) about the “arms race” in light bulbs for long lasting bulbs. Eventually, they made bulbs that lasted so long that they stopped making money.

    Lighting manufacturers intentionally made worse bulbs to simply improve profits. They realized that they were driving themselves out of business. Everyone in the light bulb industry agreed to stop development of even longer lasting bulbs, just so they could continue to move units and make money.

    Also, with LEDs, the thing that burns out fastest isn’t the LEDs (there’s usually a dozen… ish, in an LED bulb)… It’s the electronics. The power needs to be converted from line power to something the LEDs can handle, which is usually DC. So there’s a full power supply in the bulb to convert AC to DC, with a certain voltage to power the LEDs.

    Sometimes this conversation is simple, a full bridge rectifier with little more than a filtering capacitor, other times it’s very complex.

    The power supply in the bulb is usually what fails first.