Category: Human stupidity

Exxon Sues Roxx Vodka Over Xs: Oil And Vodka Are Oh So Similar | Techdirt

“ExxonMobil is pursuing legal action against Nielsen Spirits for violating our trademark rights by using a three-stroke interlocking X design in the logo for its new ‘Roxx Vodka’ beverage, and using a three-stroke interlocking X design alone,” Holbrook said. “The public associates the three-stroke interlocking X design with ‘Exxon’ and ‘ExxonMobil,’ and they represent a valuable part of ExxonMobil’s branding. ExxonMobil has protected its three-stroke interlocking X design with numerous trademark registrations, and has been using its three-stroke interlocking X design both alone and as part of ExxonMobil’s distinctive family of ‘Exxon’ and ‘ExxonMobil’ marks for decades.”

Source: Exxon Sues Roxx Vodka Over Xs: Oil And Vodka Are Oh So Similar | Techdirt

TSA airport screeners’ ability to detect weapons declared “pitiful” | Ars Technica

Security measures under “full system review.” Agency considering using dogs.

Source: TSA airport screeners’ ability to detect weapons declared “pitiful” | Ars Technica

There are laws making it illegal to collect data on open land | Ars Technica

Wyoming law—which forbids testing water quality, taking photos—is being challenged.

Source: There are laws making it illegal to collect data on open land | Ars Technica

Norway’s Pirate Bay Block Rendered Useless by ‘Mistake’ – TorrentFreak

Copyright holders celebrated a landmark victory early September when a Norwegian court ordered local ISPs to block the Pirate Bay. A breakthrough verdict perhaps, but one with a major flaw as the rightsholder forgot to list one of the site’s main domain names.

Source: Norway’s Pirate Bay Block Rendered Useless by ‘Mistake’ – TorrentFreak

TSA Master Keys – Schneier on Security

Someone recently noticed a Washington Post story on the TSA that originally contained a detailed photograph of all the TSA master keys. It’s now blurred out of the Washington Post story, but the image is still floating around the Internet. The whole thing neatly illustrates one of the main problems with backdoors, whether in cryptographic systems or physical systems: they’re fragile.

Source: TSA Master Keys – Schneier on Security

WordPress Adds Subaru to Takedown “Hall of Shame” – TorrentFreak

WordPress.com is taking a strong stance against rightsholders who abuse its takedown process. The company maintains a “hall of shame” which recently expanded with the addition of Subaru. The car manufacturer tried to take down a blog which was created in response to one of Subaru’s own contests.

Source: WordPress Adds Subaru to Takedown “Hall of Shame” – TorrentFreak

HP Drops Support For Hacking Competition As Wassenaar Arrangement Continues To Make Computing Less Safe | Techdirt

The next scheduled Pwn2Own hacking competition has lost Hewlett-Packard as its longstanding sponsor amid legal concerns that the company could run afoul of recent changes to an international treaty that governs software exploits.

Dragos Ruiu, organizer of both Pwn2Own and the PacSec West security conference in Japan, said HP lawyers spent more than $1 million researching the recent changes to the so-called Wassenaar Arrangement. He said they ultimately concluded that the legal uncertainty and compliance hurdles were too high for them to move forward.

Source: HP Drops Support For Hacking Competition As Wassenaar Arrangement Continues To Make Computing Less Safe | Techdirt