Comments on The Pensive Quill: Lab Rat Stares Back at the White Coat

The Academic's analysis is limited to only ...

2013-06-04T13:35:47.649+01:00
The Academic's analysis is limited to only those who actually post anything and what they write. I occasionally check frequent visitor ip addresses to their location,

tiarna,

Checking someone's IP and geo-locating it means nothing. Hiding your IP, changing it (same as your MAC addy) can be done with a few clicks..Which means checking their IP can give a false location. Or simply use Freenet or a good VNP to cover your butt. To check a buisness web site or Queens, Stormont etc and the type of servers , adresses etc. All you have to do is download and install a Firefox add on called passive recon

Personally it's more important to goto your router settings and DISABLE the wps function and change your WPA default password to something else (longer the better and use upper & lower case, numbers and symbols)..

All Virgin media default passwords for example are lowercase and 8 letters, Talk-Talk's default for example is uppercase and numbers. There are countless wordlists available for anyone to download that are tailor made to crack WPA's. While it wont stop spooks spying (they'll use tools such as wireshark or some other piece of reverse engineering tool/software (pentesting)). It will help prevent your nosey neighbour from downloading illegally on your IP...And prevent them from spying on you.

If I felt like it I can very easily find out the WPA password of any router within range and simply read all of my neighbours emails, documents etc they have stored on their PC (basically take control of their routers, PC's etc)..I'd simply use a Linux based piece of software such as Reaver,WPScrack, Wifite to find my neigbours WPA password.....If the WPS feature is disabled it's harder to find the password...

Anthony, there is a lot to be said in one line an...

2012-04-12T16:09:26.738+01:00
Anthony,

there is a lot to be said in one line and that one nails it but I am sure somewhere some genius is working on a program to bring smell to the net.
Made wonder what his sidekick would have to say.
Too funny.

Tain Bo, just came across this a minute ago! ...

2012-04-12T08:46:52.887+01:00
Tain Bo,

just came across this a minute ago!

'My favorite thing about the Internet is that you get to go into the private world of real creeps without having to smell them' - Penn Jillette, in a Compuserve chat

Anthony, the dog cartoon is simply profound. As ...

2012-04-11T19:15:20.130+01:00
Anthony,

the dog cartoon is simply profound.

As for jokes being over the top I am sure that day will arrive when the PC brigade, the god squad and the powers that be decide what is and what is not offensive.

As for the cops, texting acting the maggot they probably went overboard it was just interesting as it highlights the watchers are watching everybody.

'On the Internet, nobody knows you're a do...

2012-04-11T08:15:39.848+01:00
'On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog' Peter Steiner, cartoon in The New Yorker, July 5, 1993

Mark, Thanks for that info on the upcoming public...

2012-04-06T22:11:40.543+01:00
Mark,

Thanks for that info on the upcoming publication this month. Keep us posted on it.

Tomás

The first two hardly qualify for a VDR. People are perfectly entitled to withhold support from the PSNI and the GFA without having the label violent tagged onto them. That is an attempt to police dissenting thought rather than dissident force. Tain Bo made some good points on this, showing how it didn’t add up.
Tain Bo,

Yet I wonder. The idea that texting jokes should become a punishable offence seems OTT. People get these things all the time, find them funny and pass them on.

Anthony, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ir...

2012-04-06T19:44:43.268+01:00
Anthony,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17637450

"It is absolutely unacceptable for officers to engage in racist and sectarian language, and far less to exchange that in the form of texts to each other," she told a news conference.

It seems like the virtual VDRs are not alone, as the virtual PSNI seem to enjoy the instant power of violent language.
I am just curious is DCC Judith Gillespie hinting that they should be more discreet when using modern technology.
Also curious as to what Dr Bowman Grieves would make of this behavior.

Anthony, I agree to a point but for the sake of a...

2012-04-05T20:40:05.275+01:00
Anthony,

I agree to a point but for the sake of argument let’s say website A was an established recruiting ground for VDRs. A random number of these recruits go on to commit violent acts and eventually are charged and sentenced.
That would normally be the end of the story but say a disgruntled investigator decided to leak the information to the media as to the point of origin of the random number of (virtual) VDRs. The journalist does the homework and exposes the facts about website A. Condemnation would rain down like Thor’s hammer and the government would have a lot of explaining to do as to why they let these virtual recruits engage in violent actions.
Obviously in that scenario Website A would be shutdown and investigated.
The intelligence community would lose a reliable source of information and would have a difficult time defending their practice.
Long story short I assume politicians would demand tougher laws governing sites like website A.
It would be a very risky gamble for a government as a scenario along these lines (depending on its scale) would have the potential to topple said government.

For most of us point click and go users we tend to be unaware that we are in a virtual community and like any community it has the good, bad and ugly. We have the virtual police force, virtual laws, virtual criminals and we remain generally unaware of all the information sent and received. Much like the TV and remote control we don’t care how it works as long as it works.
We use antivirus software to protect and lull us into a false sense of security and anonymity as that program can identify “known” problems and intrusions.
From my limited understanding that amounts to going on holiday and locking the front and back doors but leaving all the windows open I have tried to read and understand the inner workings of the internet but admit I would have better luck breathing underwater.

Tain Bo, ‘it makes no distinction between virtual...

2012-04-02T14:18:18.987+01:00
Tain Bo,

‘it makes no distinction between virtual stone throwers and any actual radical republican.’

This is a crucial point that is overlooked.

‘These sites and even the Quill are an asset to the intelligence community and not a liability if they were detrimental they would be shut down.’

I don’t think it is so simple. I think they can serve as both but it is not just a simple matter of closing them down. Opposition just does not exist with the approval of the state. At the same time we know that anything that can be put to use by the Intelligence community will be.

‘spooks on the internet are as common as program glitches.'

Something to be always kept in mind.

Nuala, They are a SF paper and as such there is a...

2012-03-31T10:00:56.315+01:00
Nuala,

They are a SF paper and as such there is a control freak mentality there. You always have to swim against the tide to get heard. They once told me and Tommy Gorman there was no right to reply. At points it would have facilitated a discussion but was never comfortable doing it. I suppose when the assistant editor picketed our house that summed the outfit up.

Then we need only look at the way Robin was treated by SF when he made a comment after the killing of Frank McGreevy. So it is a controlled paper and the people who control it don’t like dissent.

Marty,

There would seem to be an abnormally high level of penetration. And many would have been agents of influence. But the fact remains that the bulk were not agents of any sort. The Brits had enough to win them the war.

Tiarna,

My knowledge of technology would be nowhere near as good as your own. I fumble my way thru the keyboard like most others. So it is always good to have a different view that opens up the expanse of the web.

Tomás Gorman, A + B = C is what the study states ...

2012-03-25T20:24:45.375+01:00
Tomás Gorman,

A + B = C is what the study states or there is no such thing as passive dissident republicans by virtue of her over simplistic formula.
Rejecting (A) the GFA and rejecting (B) the PSNI considered passive aggressive tendencies, which invariably can only lead to (C) a continuation of violent resistance.
Considering the study primarily focuses upon the term VDRs it may indicate or be a reference to the potential these sites hold as breeding grounds for what she terms new wave dissidents.
As for what new parameters such studies may set in the virtual world will eventually become apparent.
It would not be much of s stretch for the established order to make no distinction between physically holding up a statement as in the case of Mirian Price and electronically holding up a statement.
However, if this were the case the legal complexities would be no walk in the park.
It is the virtual global community so an aggressive agitator could be anywhere in the world.
The lecture fails to address how much traffic is actually local as opposed to global.
The lecture deals with the psychological makeup of users, which is confined and subjective unless the Dr. actually conducted in-depth interviews with a section of these site users it becomes a guess rather than an unbiased assessment.

In a sense, it becomes funny, as virtual stone throwers would probably refrain from virtual stone throwing once they leave the relative privacy and security of their home.

You do raise a valid point on parameters, which could range from censorship to prosecution.

So according to this hypothesis, to be a VDR you m...

2012-03-24T13:02:32.325Z
So according to this hypothesis, to be a VDR you must meet three criteria;

Refusal to sign up to the Good Friday Agreement

Rejection of the PSNI

Commitment to continued use of violence to achieve a United Ireland

Jim Allisters dancing pretty close to that fire.

Enjoyable piece Mark. Whilst I know that whatever is said online now is open to scrutiny and even prosecution; this academic approach to the subject is maybe beggining to form new dangerous new parameters.

Anthony, I should note this research will contrib...

2012-03-23T21:11:52.669Z
Anthony,

I should note this research will contribute to an article to appear in Media, War & Conflict co-authored by Bowman-Grieve and Dr. Maura Conway The publication date is April, I'll try to remember to look out for it in Easons. The only reason I have this information or any of the material for the blog was through the generousity of Lorraine and Queens letting me attend - that alone should indicate to any questioning their motivation free of that concern.

Though I must confess a certain devious, disruptive joy in seeing the researcher so thoroughly discussed by the subjects.

Tiarna, my apology on my misinterpretation of the...

2012-03-23T18:11:20.645Z
Tiarna,

my apology on my misinterpretation of the sub-forum easily done on my part as I am blind in one eye and the other is not so great, I completely agree with your qualified points.
You are correct on illicit trading as that makes the buyers easy prey for manipulation and eventually recruitment as a tradeoff.

“Bowman-Grieve's concerns for young men being recruited is most likely displaced; Spooks are more likely the recruiters than dissidents but that truth might never be known.”

That sums it up, as spooks on the internet are as common as program glitches.

Tain Bo The subforum is an offtopic sort of area ...

2012-03-23T17:34:20.947Z
Tain Bo

The subforum is an offtopic sort of area where members can chitchat or exchange download links and whatever --no purchases take place and it is not necessarily with the site owners approval. Much of it is likely goodwill among contributors. That it is illicit copyright material exposes downloaders to the same forms of bribe and manipulation as joyriders or shoplifters.

Bowman-Grieve's concerns for young men being recruited is most likely displaced; Spooks are more likely the recruiters than dissidents but that truth might never be known.

Tiarna, you raise some very clear observations it...

2012-03-23T17:08:08.421Z
Tiarna,

you raise some very clear observations it is interesting that the one (popular) forum you mention has a sub-forum.
That might imply that there is something more than political agitation going on a little financial entrepreneurial business of internet piracy that definitely does not fall under the banner of political activity.
One can only speculate if the finance gathered is used for other purposes or is it some very savvy way for the site owners to line their pockets?

... In addition, as Tiarna points out who is indee...

2012-03-23T16:51:58.840Z
...
In addition, as Tiarna points out who is indeed who as without a doubt outside the virtual world agents of very strong influence where well placed physically in positions of control within the PRM.
The same would apply to the virtual world wherein virtual agents would remain undetected so whilst these sites may seem invulnerable in that false sense of privacy in the virtual world they are more than likely heavily infiltrated and definitely not as the study suggests a virtual danger to any alarming extent.

Considering agents of influence would have no problem infiltrating and recruiting people in the virtual world, this enables them to conduct the same practice that changed the PRM. The study fails to mention that counter insurgency is more powerful better equipped and have years of proven experience in their methods. It is not as if the computer just magically appeared in the last decade. Regardless of what perceived threat these sites may have they can be easily quashed.

I can understand the link she is trying to establish. Though her study narrowed to what she calls VDRs there is nothing new or surprising about it.
Perhaps the only shock value it holds for some is the fact that Bigger Brother is watching this may well spook people who were or are unaware that the internet is an open book of information but that is their job and they do it efficiently.
The study seems to glance over the same old story even though it states a new wave of dissidents and the sites rely heavily upon imagery and videos. Without actual statistics, the study leaves us blind as to how much actual support and casual support these sites have. Do they get more hits during times of tension and does interest dwindle when all is quiet.

It would be questionably as to who or what they would be recruiting but again it makes no distinction between virtual stone throwers and any actual radical republican. This would lead me to believe that the study is just stuffing for the greater implications of virtual global terrorism where more advanced radical groups use the internet in a more sophisticated manner.
These sites and even the Quill are an asset to the intelligence community and not a liability if they were detrimental they would be shut down.

Anthony, I am not opposed to any research or the ...

2012-03-23T16:49:16.959Z
Anthony,

I am not opposed to any research or the methods used by researchers. Saying that the research when made public is up for scrutiny although the subject matter is interesting, I still view it as lopsided mainly as it is a study in progress.

There are many qualifying circumstances unaddressed in the study.

One of the main factors being virtual recruiting even though there may be an indirect possibility it is highly unlikely that people are recruited through forums. I am unaware of any cases that have established this as fact rather than supposition.
I would assume knowledgeable militants would be more perceptive and highly aware of electronic footprints and probably display a more cautious disciplined use of the virtual world. That is not to say they are not subject to higher surveillance as they like the rest of us would be unaware of what highly advanced spyware attached to their computer is and no matter what antivirus program you run it would remain undetected.
It does hint at the possibility but fails to make any distinction between actual militants and those in the cheering section.
The only common thread these forums share is the label “dissident republicans” I would assume given the number of sites and the different groups there would be little cooperation and more competition as in “I am Spartacus” or in these cases “we are the true republicans.”
It fails to address to what extent these forums cooperate yet does allocate different factions to the corresponding forums this would imply competition.

The study is unsure of simple statistical facts regarding how many people post. How many people visit these forums? In addition, judging by Tiarna’s description of the one forum the dialogue is more rhetoric and residual propaganda confirmed in the study. What are the established numbers of crossover visitors posting on more than one of the sites?

The intelligence world permits these sites as they gain an insight to the ebb and flow a simple way of tracking numbers and low-grade information. Which may not sound like much but low-grade information is gateway to higher quality information. Given that this is a psychological study rather than a technological one the intelligence community would put both to great use. The psychological profile or virtual profile is unique as a fingerprint this enables the intelligence community to pin- point the more vulnerable user for potential recruitment… continued.

AM "That’s a good point but how sure can any...

2012-03-23T10:46:54.925Z
AM

"That’s a good point but how sure can anyone be that Dr Bowman-Grieve is not able to differentiate between the Rangers Supporters Club and somebody else?"

How many people can access your, or my, IP address from this blogg alone? Dr Bowman-Grieve probably cannot. And the same would be true for any of the other sites she sourced for her research. The IP address is only one part of verifying who might be posting or visiting any website. There is a wealth of information that can be gathered. Unlike the Dr I am an Electronic Engineering postgraduate and hold Industry Certification in Networking technology. The Spooks employ professional hackers, and can gain access to databases the average mortal cannot. Beyond networking it can even be predicted when two people meet simply from the movement of their mobile phones.

Could someone in the Rangers Supporters Club fool Republicans on the internet? Stakeknife and Donaldson fooled people for decades face to face.

Marty, The apology ruined everything Robin said i...

2012-03-23T08:50:45.501Z
Marty,

The apology ruined everything Robin said in his original critique. That said, apparently Robin was in Scotland when the apology was issued on the orders of Mairtin. And I believe the pressure they brought to bear on him was enormous. While no fan of Robin’s I tried to understand his predicament.

I wouldnt suggest that everyone in qsf is an agent...

2012-03-22T22:02:47.477Z
I wouldnt suggest that everyone in qsf is an agent of influence Anthony, qsf is a top down party where the sheep blindly go where the dogs in the top send them.Jonathan Powell said in his book Great Hatred Little Room,"that the british government lavished attention on sf on account of its ability to influence those in control of the guns"and he wrote the Bearded ones Ard Feis address,so really the brits only needed a few well placed agents and job done,and what makes the whole thing laughable if it were not so sad is that they were handed the whole republican movement and the inla on a plate,

Marty, I think this is where the case slips. If e...

2012-03-22T11:57:54.466Z
Marty,

I think this is where the case slips. If everybody is labelled an agent of influence then the term has no meaning. It is just something to be stuck on anybody within SF and the evidence of their guilt is that they are in SF. While it might serve as a put down, it devalues any analytical usefulness or understanding.
A lot of people are sorry they ever listened to a word came out of their mouths.
tiarna has left a new comment on your post "Lab Rat Stares Back at the
White Coat":

Tiarna,

That’s a good point but how sure can anyone be that Dr Bowman-Grieve is not able to differentiate between the Rangers Supporters Club and somebody else?

A more pertinent point is where you refer to the net bravado that finds expression on the web. Hot air, a lot of it.

"It took a lot to come out with that statemen...

2012-03-22T11:17:20.275Z
"It took a lot to come out with that statement" yeah like 10 pints of dutch courage.and when he sobered up he returned to normal mode i.e. a grovelling git..

Mackers, Initially when I wrote to the Andersonsto...

2012-03-22T10:51:49.979Z
Mackers,
Initially when I wrote to the Andersonstown News I found it an absolute nightmare to get anything printed, then when it was printed it was usually no longer topical.
I remember responding to a letter about a programme based on the Maze escape. The author bragged that, 'all those involved in the Maze were now in government and dissenters should take that on board.'
I replied, it was one of many many escapes and attempted escapes however none of the other escapes ever get coverage because those involved are now the so-called dissenters.
They would not print it. So I contacted Robin and pointed out to him that, since I had written my unprinted letter Briege Brownlee has had four letter printed in that space of time and that she had actually two printed in one edition.
I told him I was going to place an official complaint but firstly I was giving him the opportunity to answer.
The only time I had big issues after that was during the exchange with Spike Murray. His letter were printed automatically and mine would be weeks after which then made them sound decidely out of step.
In hindsight though and considering that Sinn Fein run the paper I have to say Robin was more even handed than the dictates probally allowed. I remember people actaully stopping me and saying, 'I can't believe you got that printed'

Nuala, evenhanded was the last thing I found him ...

2012-03-22T04:20:42.640Z
Nuala,

evenhanded was the last thing I found him to be. From clearing Scap to screaming at dissenting views. But I did admire his stand (short lived I accept) against the Adams regime that had done nothing for West Belfast. It took a lot to come out with that statement