Re: suspicious text alteration
On 2009-02-03T18:38:19, linux@aleblanc.cotse.net wrote:
> I noticed something very suspicious the other day while using emacs.
> I'm sure I saw a text character on my screen (far from my cursor or
> mouse pointer) change to a different character on it's own.
> I have noticed this a couple of times before in the past, but
> instantly ignored it assuming it was my imagination.
> Here is a list of possibilities I can think of:
>
> 1) I was hallucinating - it was late, but I did not feel tired,
> and double checked myself.
If you save the file do you get the unchanged or changed character? If
you paste the affected session somewhere do you get the unchanged or
changed character?
> 2) Software error - I was using emacs 22.3. and did not have any
> modes running that could do something like that.
Switch to another editor, say vim :-), and see if the problem occurs
there. Seriously it would be a good data point to rule out emacs as
culprit
> 3) Harware error - the machine had been running for a long time,
> but is less than one year old. However there is a minor
> problem - when I alter the screen brightness using the fn key
> the brightness indicator that appears is usually garbage.
> Sometimes it appears as normal though.
If you have another graphics card then I would try that. Random bytes
swapping in system memory would cause a crash much sooner than you will
notice display issues, however memory on your graphics card may not
cause any other ill effects.
> 4) Cosmic rays - I have read that computer memory chips can be
> altered by cosmic ray interference, and that this is not uncommon:
> http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2008/03/do-we-need-cosmic-ray-alerts-for.html
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7335322.stm
Same as 3).
> 5) Hacker/Root kit - could someone disrupt my workflow by
> installing a rootkit which subtly alters text? or maybe a
> hacker is doing it directly? I did have an SVN server & SSH
> server connected to the internet, and frequently used instant
> messaging with people I don't know very well.
Prank? Root kits usually wants to stay undetected to steal passwords,
or use your box as spam relay.
/Allan
--
Allan Wind
Life Integrity, LLC
http://lifeintegrity.com
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