Non-new twists in Information Security

How strange that bankinfosecurity let this get past its editors:

“Whitelisting” is a new twist on information security. Instead of trying to find a software solution that keeps all of the potential bad guys out of your systems, whitelisting allows you to establish a protection layer that grants access to only your finite list of good guys – individuals or applications.

New twist? Firewalls are the very definition of whitelisting and have been around since the dawn of information security theory. Although I occasionally find a non-security administrator trying to use blacklisting to segment a network, security professionals always start with whitelisting where possible.

46mpg 4WD Toyota RAV4

I seem to be helping a lot of friends find new vehicles and I just noticed a D-4D Diesel Engine for the RAV4:

Urban mpg 31.7

Extra-Urban mpg 46.3

Combined mpg 39.8

4WD, compact and high mpg. Sounds ideal for someone I am helping right now. Too bad they would have to go somewhere else in the world to buy one.

Meanwhile, back in America people wax poetic about new cars pushing 26 mpg. Please, forget anything under 35 mpg. A model T in the 1920s could get high 20s in mileage. GM is sorely mistaken if it thinks 26 mpg is newsworthy while other car companies are releasing full-size vehicles with numbers closer to 50 and even 60.

Diesel Conversion of America

I find it odd that Mercedes talks about “converting” Americans. An article in benzfaqs suggests the USA might see the first diesel-hybrid Bluetec.

The C250 is claimed to get 57.7 mpg, while a C300 Bluetec hybrid gets a claimed 61.4 mpg.

Many people are curious as to why Mercedes is choosing to sell their hybrids in the U.S. before branching out into the great sale waters of the UK. A Mercedes UK spokesman said “The focus has been on the big prize which is converting America.”

W00T! Convert me. Convert me. I’m a believer. Yooo-hooo, over here….

Hari Puttar Lawsuit

BBC NEWS says Warner is suing an Indian company because the name might be confused with Harry Potter:

Warner Bros feels the name is too similar to that of its world famous young wizard, according to trade paper The Hollywood Reporter.

A spokesman confirmed the lawsuit against Mumbai-based Mirchi Movies.

Call me silly but I believe this is far less similar than a movie called Troll, made in 1986.

Troll had a boy named…Harry Potter:

Interviewer: “It’s bizarre, isn’t it? You have a young boy named Harry Potter who discovers that he has magical powers and uses them to fight a troll.”

Charles Band: “I’ve heard that JK Rowling has acknowledged that maybe she saw this low-budget movie and perhaps it inspired her. Who knows what the story is? Life’s too short for a fight as far as I’m concerned but, having said that, there are certain scenes in that movie, not to mention the name of the main character, and this of course predates the Harry Potter books by many, many years. So there’s that strange connection.”

Strange connection indeed.