justinclift

> The best I've done is to modify a potted chip by very careful thermal imaging to figure out where the part was that blocked the feature I wanted to unlock (market segmentation) and then drill through the case to a depth just higher than the chip.

Sounds like a good approach when you only have a single (or just a few) of the devices so you need to be careful.

With hardware wallets (aka substantial incentive), then the attackers could order a bunch of them for sacrificial zero-ing in the exact places to drill with a CNC/microscope/etc.

> But if he's a poor young man in a desperately poor country, then I didn't get scammed even if he lied to me about specific details. I just helped someone.

Alternatively, you just paid someone so they can continue scamming others. :(

Unfortunately, while the other scenarios are only _possible_, the alternative view above _actually happened_.

Thanks. I was looking for it in combination with "Silicon Graphics" as I didn't know it's its own thing. ;)

While you're somewhat right, my expectation is that the scammer just switched up their script to be something more spontaneous and suited to their mark.

And it worked.

> I recently struck up a friendship a Nigerian scammer.

...

> I've chosen to send him a trivial (for me) amount of money [...]

Uh oh.

Sounds like you've found your next project to spin up... :)

> what do you use black paper for?

Just for something different, nothing too special about it. :)

Wouldn't "dark mode" be the equivalent of using black paper? :)

It does exist btw, I've used it before myself.

Re-arrangeable every week for the new weekly sponsor!

Maybe even a new "Shade as a Service" business model. ;)

Also, they signal that AI was definitely involved in the process, which can mean the writing itself is generated garbage.

> If you look at casualty rates from some of the early Greek warfare during the hoplite era, it's also surprisingly low.

Didn't Genghis Khan wipe out entire cities? Like, every person inside, kind of thing. Women/children/etc included.