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A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

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Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#91

Post by rwmurrayVT »

aaomidi wrote: post #83
milesvp wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw a youtube video recently about the extensive use of cell phones to play old school runescape. Like it’s everywhere in every prison in the last couple of years. People not only play it but also use it’s currency for real world trading. Apparently violent behavior is down wherever people are playing. I’d love to find corroborating evidence for this, because I find it completely facinating.

The sad thing about this is that it's still contraband and really bad for the prisoner if they're caught with it.

In the federal system you get automatically moved up one security level. Minimum to low to medium to high. There are very, very few cell phones beyond a lot. There's probably 1 for every 5 people in a minimum.

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#92

Post by wrboyce »

Stevvo wrote: post #90
DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you just need one corrupt guard, or somebody who is willing to close their eyes. guards are only people and being on shift talking with and being exposed to those confined will eventually make them empathic, as they realize many of the prisoners (majority but not all) are just people who never had a chance (grew up in orphanages or on the street, or often just homeless looking to escape the cold of the winter by doin…

Oz is the most horrific thing I have ever seen on screen. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.

Your comment got me thinking and I can’t decide which is worse; so many harrowing moments to choose from. But still, great show.

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#93

Post by pergadad »

aaomidi wrote: post #13
Shivetya wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well in Georgia we have had a few reports from the prison system about what they confiscate from prisoners. [0]. Look at what they are finding just among the prisoners so imagine how much easier it is to smuggle into the staff areas anything you want. Nearly two thousand cell phones, four times that number in make shift weapons, and of course drugs. Cell phones are a particular problem because it has been shown that…

Is it wrong that I find it a terrible thing that people aren't allowed computers with internet or cellphones in prison? How do we expect people to join back to society when they can't use literally the number one most important thing? Maybe give them phones with no cameras and monitoring of use, but just nothing seems very inhumane.

I completely agree and at the same time see the other side: think of the typical drug kingpin or monster still directing 'business' and hits from prison. And you can't give phones to some and not to others because prisoners obviously interact with each other.

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#94

Post by Wowfunhappy »

dang wrote: post #54
mttjj wrote: post #50

Off-topic but can someone please fix the lazy title? I detest misused (or omitted) apostrophes. Even better would to just change the title to match the linked article: "How a Hacker's Mom Broke Into a Prison—and the Warden's Computer"

Yes, fixed now. Submitters: please don't rewrite titles unless they are misleading or linkbait. This is in the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html . (Submitted title was "Pen testers mom breaks into a state prison and infects wardens computer")

Dang, if I may use this opportunity to ask a question about titles, is it okay to change a title because the original isn't descriptive enough within the context of Hacker News?

Just to choose an example: There's a program called Retroactive which patches Aperture, iPhoto, and iTunes to work again on macOS Catalina. The project's github links to a medium article the author wrote, which is titled:

> Technical Deep Dive: How does Retroactive work?

If you arrive at this article from RetroActive's github, it's a fine title. But if you just see it on Hacker News and don't know what Retroactive does, the title is 100% useless noise. So when I submitted the article to HN[0], I tried to make the title more descriptive while also changing as little as possible. All I did was replace "work" with what Retroactive actually does:

> Technical Deep Dive: How Does Retroactive Patch Aperture for macOS Catalina?

Even though I did my best to change as little as possible, I felt quite guilty about the title change. But in hindsight, by trying to "compromise", I ended up with a title that's still really bad! The first 6 words of my 11-word title give the reader absolutely zero information.

This article didn't get much attention, and I can't help wondering if the title is why (not to imply that this or any article somehow deserves attention). The title really should have been:

> How Retroactive makes Aperture, iPhoto, and iTunes work again on macOS Catalina

0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22229101

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#95

Post by dang »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #94
dang wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, fixed now. Submitters: please don't rewrite titles unless they are misleading or linkbait. This is in the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html . (Submitted title was "Pen testers mom breaks into a state prison and infects wardens computer")

Dang, if I may use this opportunity to ask a question about titles, is it okay to change a title because the original isn't descriptive enough within the context of Hacker News? Just to choose an example: There's a program called Retroactive which patches Aperture, iPhoto, and iTunes to work again on macOS Catalina. The project's github links to a medium article the author wrote, which is titled: > Technical Deep Div…

What you're talking about is fine. We could construct an argument that it's also within the site guidelines, but really the rules aren't meant to be treated so formally.

The only thing I'd add is that it makes a huge difference to use language, where possible, from the article itself, rather than come up with words that aren't in the article. There's nearly always a subtitle or representative phrase that is suitable. A title that consists of the article's own language makes for a much better title than one that the submitter made up. We stick to that principle when editing titles. It's not always doable, but 90% of the time it is.

In the case of 22229101, though, I'd go for the subtitle: "The technical backstory of Retroactive". It's true that it doesn't explain what Retroactive is. But it explains what the article is, and it implies that readers will find out what Retroactive is. Indeed, the very first thing you see if you click on it is "If you need to run Aperture, iPhoto, or iTunes on macOS Catalina". It's a great HN submission, so I've changed the title to that and emailed you a repost invite.

p.s. I don't mind having these conversation on the site from time to time, but it's random whether we end up seeing a post like yours or not, so if you want to be sure to get a response, hn@ycombinator.com is better.

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#96

Post by Wowfunhappy »

dang wrote: post #95
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dang, if I may use this opportunity to ask a question about titles, is it okay to change a title because the original isn't descriptive enough within the context of Hacker News? Just to choose an example: There's a program called Retroactive which patches Aperture, iPhoto, and iTunes to work again on macOS Catalina. The project's github links to a medium article the author wrote, which is titled: > Technical Deep Div…

What you're talking about is fine. We could construct an argument that it's also within the site guidelines, but really the rules aren't meant to be treated so formally. The only thing I'd add is that it makes a huge difference to use language, where possible, from the article itself, rather than come up with words that aren't in the article. There's nearly always a subtitle or representative phrase that is suitable.…

Thank you! I have resubmitted (with that title).

I will say: my concern with not defining Retroactive is that the people who'd likely be most interested in such an story (say, macOS programmers) won't be any more likely to read it than, say, SQL programmers. But maybe that's less big a deal than I think it is?

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#97

Post by dang »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #96
dang wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you're talking about is fine. We could construct an argument that it's also within the site guidelines, but really the rules aren't meant to be treated so formally. The only thing I'd add is that it makes a huge difference to use language, where possible, from the article itself, rather than come up with words that aren't in the article. There's nearly always a subtitle or representative phrase that is suitable.…

Thank you! I have resubmitted (with that title). I will say: my concern with not defining Retroactive is that the people who'd likely be most interested in such an story (say, macOS programmers) won't be any more likely to read it than, say, SQL programmers. But maybe that's less big a deal than I think it is?

That didn't work, and a bunch of users even flagged it, so let's try again with your title. I put the submission (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22454069) in the second-chance pool (described at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11662380).

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#98

Post by somesortofsystm »

nefitty wrote: post #69
somesortofsystm wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is it wrong that I find it a terrible thing that people aren't allowed computers with internet or cellphones in prison? I also think they should be allowed to grow their own weed.

Are you being facetious? If so, letting people access information which could help them establish some grounding in the outside world is not exactly a ridiculous idea.

No, I'm serious. Information wants to be free. So does weed.

Re: A hacker's mom broke into a prison and the warden's computer

#99

Post by sybarita »

NerdyDrone wrote: post #88
sybarita wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

eh, as a former "young thug" i definitely knew how, thought to, and did score painkillers benzos from doctors. they know where to buy on the street, but they're also broke. so the appeal is the money to be made from selling the pills. starting price for hydro/oxycodone is $1/mg, so 90*30mg will net you nearly 3k. if we provided addicts with clean drugs and access to help there would be no need for a black market, and…

thanks for sharing. hope you're good, I believe in u hahaha

thank you!
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