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NULL license plate not such a bright idea

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Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#261

Post by lucideer »

zrobotics wrote: post #246

"Droogie contacted the DMV who told him to change his plate. He refused because he didn't do anything wrong. While they wiped the fines off his record, unfortunately for him, they didn't fix the problem in the system so once again, Droogie has accrued another $6,000 in tickets" So wait, after he knew this was the outcome from using this plate he just decided 'nope, the DMV will definitely rectify this error'? Maybe h…

Its a matter of principle though. Droogie hasn't done anything wrong, and is receiving fines due to errors made by the DMV.

You're right that when faced with a choice between acting on principle vs acting pragmatically/for one's own benefit/convenience/need, people often don't have the luxury of (or patience for) choosing the former. But it's nice to see when someone does.

Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#262

Post by sitkack »

foobiekr wrote: post #204
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #90

Tangentially related somewhat-common bug: YAML files will interpret the literal 'no' as boolean false if it's not quoted, instead of as a string. Many developers have wondered why, when they stuck country-specific configurations in a YAML file, that things suddenly stopped working when they expanded support for Norway.

YAML has tons of warts like this. https://yaml.org/type/bool.html This should be used in schools as an example to illustrate how not to do things.

Every feature is a source of bugs. Be careful when constructing end user affordances for systems that have broad applicability and need to run over a very long time span.

Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#263

Post by zxcvbn4038 »

mikeash wrote: post #245
rebuilder wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've also heard a similar story of a Finnish man who got a ticket in the UK, and on closer inspection found his name on the ticket listed as Mr. Ajokortti Körkort. Thats "driver's licence", first in Finnish, then Swedish, and is written at the top of the driver's license card. That said, I find these stories a little hard to credit, since you'd expect police officers in the EU to be fairly familiar with the standard…

You’d expect offices in the US to be familiar with US states and territories, but that doesn’t stop them from occasionally demanding a passport from people from New Mexico, or saying a license is fake because there’s no such state as “District of Columbia.”

I once had a Texas policemen unholster his pistol on me because he thought my US Passport was a fake ID and my travelers checks were some sort of scam. Then his backup arrived and explained both items to him — and the Dairy Queen cashier that had called 911 on me. Stuff like that is why you have to stay on the interstate.

Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#264

Post by LiamPa »

hammock wrote: post #153

Could someone devise a SQL injection attack using a custom-made license plate? I'm imagining someone printing up x'; DROP TABLE drivers; -- on a plate, and driving up and down the highway past automated license-plate readers.

; DROP TABLE "COMPANIES";-- LTD

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10542519

Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#265

Post by alibarber »

linker3000 wrote: post #132

A colleague used an app's "generate secure password" feature to change their ISP's web portal login - which then also became the WAN router's password - which they didn't realise. It was about a week before the router dropped its connection and needed to re-authenticate - and that's when I was called in to investigate the loss of connectivity - which Windows 10 very unhelpfully reported as the network cable disconnec…

Oooh this reminds me, I am trying to learn a language that of course has ‘non-standard’ characters, and not even anything particularly exciting - Ä, Ö and the like. I thought it’d be cool to help memorise words (and be super secure) by changing frequently used passwords to phrases that contained these words... ...Caused me some trouble.

Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#266

Post by HenryBemis »

growt wrote: post #159
hammock wrote: post #153

Could someone devise a SQL injection attack using a custom-made license plate? I'm imagining someone printing up x'; DROP TABLE drivers; -- on a plate, and driving up and down the highway past automated license-plate readers.

Ah little Bobby drivers ...

It always makes me so happy to see a "little Bobby tables we call him" reference when data inputs are discussed!!!

I will assume that we are all aware of the Exploits of a Mom, but just in case we have anyone reading this that doesn't already appreciate XKCD: https://www.xkcd.com/327/

Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#267

Post by TomK32 »

throwaway3627 wrote: post #231
tbyehl wrote: post #219

Earlier this summer I decided that I'd found a loophole and ordered 'N0 TAG' and 'N0NE' (zeros) for my motorcycles. The license plate font doesn't distinguish between 0 and O but the computers seem to account for visually similar characters -- I could not order the same plates with Os after they'd issued. Haven't caught anyone else's tickets so far. SunPass won't accept 'N0 TAG' being associated with my transponder t…

Lol. Third vehicle should have N0 L1C

P0L 1CE

Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#268

Post by atm0sphere »

zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #263
mikeash wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’d expect offices in the US to be familiar with US states and territories, but that doesn’t stop them from occasionally demanding a passport from people from New Mexico, or saying a license is fake because there’s no such state as “District of Columbia.”

I once had a Texas policemen unholster his pistol on me because he thought my US Passport was a fake ID and my travelers checks were some sort of scam. Then his backup arrived and explained both items to him — and the Dairy Queen cashier that had called 911 on me. Stuff like that is why you have to stay on the interstate.

can you elaborate on this story? why the hell did the cashier call 911 on you, and what state were you from?

how long ago was this?

Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#269

Post by 05 »

gruez wrote: post #184
linker3000 wrote: post #132

A colleague used an app's "generate secure password" feature to change their ISP's web portal login - which then also became the WAN router's password - which they didn't realise. It was about a week before the router dropped its connection and needed to re-authenticate - and that's when I was called in to investigate the loss of connectivity - which Windows 10 very unhelpfully reported as the network cable disconnec…

>Avoid backticks in passwords. Is there even a reason to include special characters in passwords? They add 10% more security[1] but cause all sorts of issues with systems. Just use an alphanumeric password that's 10% longer, and if special characters are mandatory, use a safe character at the end like _ or -. [1] 6.55 bits per character (all printable ascii characters) rather than 5.95 (only alphanumeric)

bits usually add exponential complexity, so that '10% more' security might mean a password that's a million times harder to brute force..

Re: NULL license plate not such a bright idea

#270

Post by fortran77 »

ryandrake wrote: post #127
cortesoft wrote: post #11

I love when people double down out of principle, when the only person getting hurt is themselves. He refuses to change it because he did nothing wrong...sure, but you are also the only one being hurt by it. Is this really the hill to die on?

It reminds me of the guy who owns nissan.com, who probably blew his life savings on lawyers defending himself from Nissan Motors lawyers for decades.

Nissan treated that man very badly. I never owned a Nissan car, and never would because of this.

His family name was Nissan, and he registered the domain when Nissan still called itself "Datsun" in the U.S.A.

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