I always made a ton of mistakes when I used one. It was a Pita to correct them.

 

Well I guess I'll break out the old Smith & Corona to start practicing (.)(backspace)(I)

 

Erbody wants to be a hipster.

 

Russia is doing the same thing. I am curious, though, where they are going to find all of the ribbons/components, etc. Ebay?

 

I still recall the part in the remake of Battlestar Galactica where they were discussing the need to fight technology by reverting away from it.

 

... where they are going to find all of the ribbons/components, etc. Ebay?

I think this place sells 'em. Says so right here on the back of my ruler.

 

Why would they go back that far when there were "unconnected" word processors in the 80's??? (To those of you that may not know what they were) They worked just like a laptop, were connected to a single printer but no network connection. They usually operated using wordperfect and you could correct mistakes very easily. Usually used for top secret or classified communications by courier.

 

Why would they go back that far when there were "unconnected" word processors in the 80's??? (To those of you that may not know what they were) They worked just like a laptop, were connected to a single printer but no network connection. They usually operated using wordperfect and you could correct mistakes very easily. Usually used for top secret or classified communications by courier.

^ This

Just take the PC off the network, turn off any wireless capabilities. Have a wired printer for the PC.
I typed on this setup for school work at home, before we had internet, pre window 95 days. No connections. I would hate to see what my papers looked like on type writers LOL.

 

Only thing about a word processor, even unconnected to a network, is it still "remembers" what you wrote. Not good in the event it ever gets snatched or confiscated.

/tinfoil hat off

 

Ribbons also record what you type ;sofa

 

I'm not so sure about their definition of what constitutes a "surge", but I suppose that anything which goes from virtually zero sales to something-not-zero sales might qualify. And they even admit to an increase in sales simply due to Brother leaving the typewriter market. I wouldn't say that such a sales "surge" due to that constitutes the indication of a huge, upcoming typewriter market due to spying fears.

I predict that this will be a teeny, tiny niche market, likely for the really paranoid. Big companies aren't going to go back to typewriters because that would be a rather large and costly administrative change for the company bottom line. Smaller companies and business who simply don't care about the spying aspect (because they don't have anything worth spying on in the first place) won't buy them because it's an unnecessary expence and inconvenience.

 

so many scared people out there...

 

The cloud technology and usage has exploded. I don't see it ever going away. From what I've seen people tend to be hosting their own "cloud" and locking down outside access to it. Costs more but gives you a better ability to lock it down. Most folks I've dealt with in financial arena's like the cloud access, but not the idea of a 3rd party managing the infrastructure.

Now one interesting thing I've seen is a VCE product. VmWare, Cisco unified computing for computing power and EMC storage all in a built to order rack. Data Center in a box and you call one number for support on anything. Looks like it is designed as a mainframe replacement for shops that don't have in-house vm people.

That being said, type writers aren't going away, either. Financial people love to use forms that require them for some reason.

I miss typing on them, actually. I wrote my high school term paper on one.

 

Security is about layers. No one step is fool proof. I have a tool that pulls data off a drive. I pulled data off a drive after writing over it and formatting it a few times. The only way the tool failed was DOD type wipes or if the drive was encrypted. There are tools to get around that, too.

Security can be breached, always. Nothing is fool proof. If you have sensitive crap, pull it off the network and run an encryption tool. Lock down your home network. Run separate networks for guests/family...not separated by vlans, separated by layer 3. If you're truly paranoid, you shouldn't be on a computer. If it's on the internet, it isn't ever truly safe. All you can do is add layers. Just like physical home security. A dog isn't a solution. Neither is an alarm, flashlight or a gun. Combine them all and you have a layered solution. Computer crap works exactly the same.

 

to answer a couple of those questions

i was reading a bunch of the comments because i thought the same thing. apparently the nsa can still get into an unconnected pc, dont ask me how, and they can also figure out the particular key strokes of electronic typewriters. as for being able to read the ribbons, yep you can, which is why you have to destroy them once you are finished with them.

 

I haven't intentionally backed up any data to the cloud yet, although my Nexus 5 phone wants to do it automaticly. Only thing I intentionally upload is a few gun pics on photobucket.

My posts along with the rest you you, are spread across the internet on these forums. These pages are cached and stored frequently. Even if we delete it, it's out there somewhere. So go ahead and join me on the list ;Neo

 

I haven't intentionally backed up any data to the cloud yet, although my Nexus 5 phone wants to do it automaticly. Only thing I intentionally upload is a few gun pics on photobucket.

My posts along with the rest you you, are spread across the internet on these forums. These pages are cached and stored frequently. Even if we delete it, it's out there somewhere. So go ahead and join me on the list ;Neo

http://www.cachedpages.com/

Those are just the simple ones made by private web crawlers. Imagine what the NSA can do in those huge data warehouses.

I worked with a very high speed network fellow once. I saw what he was able to extract from a "secured" network. Data from servers running windows, *nix and all sorts of crap. I have no delusions that my personal crap is 100% safe.

 

dont worry, the nsa will make sure your pc is secure by entering through the backdoor software which is included in every machince

 

That being said, type writers aren't going away, either. Financial people love to use forms that require them for some reason.

I miss typing on them, actually. I wrote my high school term paper on one.

The police department in my home town loved them, too, for the CCW permit process. First time I filled out the paperwork, I noticed the instructions on the state form said to "type or neatly print". The local police department instructions said "type only". And if you didn't follow their instructions, they presumably wouldn't process the paperwork. I judged that it wasn't worth the hassle to fight that, especially since Indiana was (still is) a "shall issue" state. Later on, after typewriters had pretty much gone the way of the dinosaurs...they STILL required the form to be typed. I haven't been an Indiana resident for a good while, now, but I believe they've gone to pdf forms you fill out online.

Security is about layers. No one step is fool proof. I have a tool that pulls data off a drive. I pulled data off a drive after writing over it and formatting it a few times. The only way the tool failed was DOD type wipes or if the drive was encrypted. There are tools to get around that, too.

Security can be breached, always. Nothing is fool proof. If you have sensitive crap, pull it off the network and run an encryption tool. Lock down your home network. Run separate networks for guests/family...not separated by vlans, separated by layer 3. If you're truly paranoid, you shouldn't be on a computer. If it's on the internet, it isn't ever truly safe. All you can do is add layers. Just like physical home security. A dog isn't a solution. Neither is an alarm, flashlight or a gun. Combine them all and you have a layered solution. Computer crap works exactly the same.

If I was the kinda person who was into activities where I was worried about any of my computer files/hardware being snooped or confiscated by authorities, I'd invest the time and money for a physical destruction of all the hardware. And the important stuff wouldn't be online, either. Doesn't take but a second for a thermite compound to completely destroy something like that. But I guess people just don't think that way.

to answer a couple of those questions

i was reading a bunch of the comments because i thought the same thing. apparently the nsa can still get into an unconnected pc, dont ask me how, and they can also figure out the particular key strokes of electronic typewriters. as for being able to read the ribbons, yep you can, which is why you have to destroy them once you are finished with them.

There is a reason why IT security has minimum physical installation requirements on government networks that are installed...and this kind of stuff is why. If you run a (non-optical) network cable parallel and close to other network cables or data transmission lines (like, say, phone lines) it is possible for signals to leak from one line to the other. Routing and installation of such lines is important.

 

interesting, i know one way to thwart them would be to remove your hard drive, you can't read what isn't there. for the secret squirrel stuff we had to remove the hard drive whenever it was not in use.

 

If I was the kinda person who was into activities where I was worried about any of my computer files/hardware being snooped or confiscated by authorities, I'd invest the time and money for a physical destruction of all the hardware. And the important stuff wouldn't be online, either. Doesn't take but a second for a thermite compound to completely destroy something like that. But I guess people just don't think that way.

223 pokes nice little holes, but makes cleanup a bear. I've seen too many IT folks grabbing pictures off of old hard drives. I don't want some pencil necked geek poking through my pictures.

 

lol...we used to have a burn barrel for teletype ribbons and punch tapes...I feel old.

On the fun side, we filled a guys car up with shredded paper from our Top Secret rated shredder before. I think the slips of paper were about the same width as a human hair and cross-cut to about a quarter inch in length.

Every time that guy turned on his fan in the car...poof

 

Security is about layers. No one step is fool proof. I have a tool that pulls data off a drive. I pulled data off a drive after writing over it and formatting it a few times. The only way the tool failed was DOD type wipes or if the drive was encrypted. There are tools to get around that, too.

I've heard this before, but I'd like to know how. How can pervious data be read from magnetic media after it has been overwritten by other data?

 

I've heard this before, but I'd like to know how. How can pervious data be read from magnetic media after it has been overwritten by other data?

1's and 0's man. Complex algorithms. Many times, a simple format just overwrites with all 1's and all 0's. Same with "deleting" stuff. You've gotta wipe that stuff. DBan is free and works. Also, using a free drive encryption slows you down, but it makes stealing data harder. Harder...not impossible. Encrypting thumb drives is recommended just so you don't lose it one day and then find your wife/girlfriend/b00ger pics posted on pinterest. It is highly unlikely, but I'm not likely to ever need a handgun to defend myself, either.

Also when you delete, you may just be removing a reference point. That data is still there...it is just no longer referenced. That depends on the OS.

 

I think a part of the comeback of typewriters is hipsters trying to be "cool" by using outdated technology.