My world is largely at peace right now, but that doesn’t mean all is well on this western front. Welcome to the brief!

• Dangerous recognition

While it is always nice to be recognised for one’s deeds, some dissidents I’m sure would much rather want a bit of anonymity. Acknowledging their existence and their work makes sure it hasn’t been in vain; awarding them only tells the government that’s keeping them detained that they are dangerous. Too often have we assumed that publicity will give protection. Martyrdom is neither a sign of success nor a proof of intellect. Change and results are the goals, not fame and medals. 

• Windows for free - yes, legally¹

If you have been interested in getting Windows Vista for free, Microsoft is ready to help you. That is, as long as you let them track your usage of the OS. Sounds to me like I should put up a honeypot with this.

• Your ripped MP3s are illegal

The RIAA strikes again, this time with logic². Or thereabouts. You might be a thief if you have ever ripped your purchased music to MP3. What you should have done is either purchase songs directly as MP3s or simply buy a 5-pack of identical CDs to ensure that once a copy gets scratched or stolen, you have others to fall back on. Or if your CDs get stolen you should report that the thief stole about $9250 multiplied by the number of songs that were, collectively, on those CDs. Sounds only fair, right³?

• Post-breach wise-up

Hindsight being 20-20, Ohio decided to buy some encryption software, now that they’ve already had large amounts of data compromised. Mind you, it’s not them that are suffering from this dataloss, but who is keeping track? It’s not like anyone could have known that there are always people trying to steal data and prevent this by having it all encrypted already. Well, at least it’s a step in the right direction. I hope they have a password policy that prevents users from sticking a piece of paper on the bottom of the machine - what criminal would ever look there? 

1. hackd does not encourage people to commit any illegal activities; I do, however, encourage you to challenge in every way all positions, even - especially - if they are set in law, that you believe are a hindrance to progress [↩]
2. And it’s not their first </sarcasm> [↩]
3. This is the crux of the issue. The police don’t put as much effort in finding those responsible for crimes that impact society deeply, yet the MAFIAA has turned law enforcement into their personal lapdogs that must fetch those refusing to keep alive an obsolete business model [↩]