Mastodawn

Spike

@spike@infosec.exchange

452 Followers

593 Following

2.8K Posts

I am a meat popsicle.

This is Andrew Brandt's non-work profile, where I may discuss information security topics as well as non-infosec things that are on my mind.

I'm a malware researcher and writer about security topics for an infosec vendor, and a volunteer docent at the Media Archaeology Lab retrocomputing lab (@mediaarchaeologylab) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. I hack old stuff and also, occasionally, fix it. Drinker of beer, player of videogames, and nerdcore enthusiast.

Earlier in my career I was a journalist, but always a technologist. I worked for PC World and MacUser magazines as an editor. I was also a staff writer for the UC Berkeley student-run newspaper, the Daily Californian. In the mid-90s I worked for KRON-TV in San Francisco on a tech magazine show called Next Step that was syndicated internationally on Discovery networks.

For purely malware- and security-related toots, please follow @threatresearch

Meat popsicle?	YES!
State of residence	Colorado
State of my office	disarray
Pets	none
Favorite form of archaeology	media

Paco Hope #resist 5d ago

I wanted to digitize some old #cassette tapes so I bought a #USB cassette player. It comes with a bit of software (just Audacity) and that software is on a CD. It’s a cassette player: distribute your software on cassettes, cowards!

If it was good enough for my Vic 20, it’s good enough for you.

@NanoRaptor oof I feel that in my rapidly ossifying body

Nanoraptor 5d ago

Tyrannosaurus rex lived closer to the release of the Apple QuickTake 200 digital camera than it did to Stegosaurus.

Scott Hanselman 👸🏽🐝🌮5d ago

We are back! #C64 https://www.commodore.net/ The first official Commodore 64 in over 30 years is here - a faithful recreation of the original motherboard on FPGA hardware. HDMI, WiFi, USB, but compatible with every existing cartridge and peripheral. Not an emulator - a recreation. Same price as my first $299

Home | Commodore

Commodore

Alice Stollmeyer Jun 19

Good to catch up with @glandsbergis, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

Europe is at a crossroads. Either we become the flag bearer of the free world, or we become irrelevant.

@DefendDemocracy

Digital Mark λ ☕️ 🕹 🙄Jun 18

The best of the best computer magazine of all time:
https://archive.org/search?query=%22best+of+creative+computing%22&sort=title
#programming #retrocomputing #basic

If you're gonna read anything I link to, *read these*. Type in some programs with a BASIC like
http://www.nicholson.com/rhn/basic/

Phil Plait Jun 11

I am furious — incandescently furious — over the attacks on science by Trump and his regime, especially the actions of RFK Jr., which, *as history has plainly show us*, result in deaths upon deaths.

You want the receipts? I've got the receipts.

https://badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/standing-up-for-science-ca09

Standing Up for Science

Why we must defend science, and the text from my national rally speech

Bad Astronomy Newsletter

Natasha Jay May 15

Hold on, I'm just defragging my tulip field 🌷

EFF Updates RSS May 17

Standing Up for LGBTQ+ Digital Safety this International Day Against Homophobia

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/standing-lgbtq-digital-safety-international-day-against-homophobia

#Security #Privacy #LGBTQ+

Standing Up for LGBTQ+ Digital Safety this International Day Against Homophobia

Lawmakers and regulators around the world have been prolific with passing legislation restricting freedom of expression and privacy for LGBTQ+ individuals and fueling offline intolerance. Online platforms are also complicit in this pervasive ecosystem by censoring pro-LGBTQ+ speech, forcing LGBTQ+...

Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Colorado Sun ☀️May 17

Colorado utility regulators voted Wednesday to begin monitoring the reliability and customer service performance of the state’s largest electricity provider, Xcel Energy.

https://coloradosun.com/2025/05/15/xcel-energy-service-problems-colorado-puc-monitoring/

Xcel says it has moved to solve service problems. Colorado regulators want to verify the progress.

Hoping to reverse a trend that included unresolved billing problems and long power outages, Xcel has hired 170 agents and plans to add more

The Colorado Sun

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Natasha Jay May 15

Hold on, I'm just defragging my tulip field 🌷

@Natasha_Jay which colour is system files again?

Koos van den Hout May 15

@Natasha_Jay just adding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxZyxxHOw3Y

Disk Defragmentation and Enfragmentation (FAT tool/toy)

YouTube

@KHoos @Natasha_Jay
Full puzzling

Danny Boling ☮️May 15

That is so truly soothing to the nerves. Or at least, *my* nerves.

Mark T. Tomczak May 15

@Natasha_Jay tulip.map
tulip.reduce

Sara Angeloni 🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺May 15

@Natasha_Jay There do seem to be badsectors. 🤔

Verkehrshindernis May 15

@Natasha_Jay Gen Z and younger will may not understand 🙄😉

Greg Bell May 15

@HenrikOhneD @Natasha_Jay yeah now everyone uses solid state tulip fields

@Natasha_Jay LOL! Wow, that brings back memories.

Judeau (EatTheRich)May 15

@Natasha_Jay I have fond memories of defragging hard drives. I might even be a little nostalgic for it.

Scan disk however, not so much. It took forever and if you accidentally bumped the desk or jiggled the mouse then it had to start all over. 🤬

Mactonex May 15

@Natasha_Jay Defragging! I used to love watching my hard drive defrag. So relaxing.

Crazy-to-Bike May 15

@Natasha_Jay 🤩

marcantonio May 15

@Natasha_Jay 🤦‍♂️ 😄

Kathy Bryson May 15

@Natasha_Jay
😅

Herr TurTur May 15

@Natasha_Jay
I could totally do with a carpet like that.

Oh, defragging. Yes... what a pointless endeavour...

Dubs! 🌩️May 15

@Natasha_Jay that or your tulip field is engaging its warp drive

formuchdeliberation May 15

@Natasha_Jay wow, lovely...

@Natasha_Jay
I don't think you should do that unless its one of those older spinning tulip fields.

🎬 John • A Film Nerd • 🎥May 15

@Natasha_Jay @Natasha_Jay You're reminding me that I'm the autistic kid who loved to go round other kids houses and introduce them to defrag. 😂

I'm old enough that someone gave me a utility that parked the HDD drive heads so you could safely turn off the PC. I'm know wondering if that was really needed, even back then.

Travis 'Nep' Smith May 15

@UKFilmNerd @Natasha_Jay what do you mean? It’s totally normal to love to defrag the computers of your friends’ parents’ computers isn’t… ohhhh wow.

@Natasha_Jay Did you know Wicked movie's tulips were real? They're not CGIed!

Paul McO'Smith III May 15

@Natasha_Jay dd if=/field/empty of=/field/messyField

noooooooooooooooo!!!!!

Al & Val's Modern Homesteading May 15

@Natasha_Jay Ohhh! I like that! (The defragging I mean). Can't have a bunch of tulips getting that fragged.

@Natasha_Jay European Farmers when their tractor hits some WWII era unexploded Ordinance

GinevraCat May 15

@Natasha_Jay I was trying to explain the zen-like joy of defragging to my comp sci class yesterday!
I loved doing that!

Ben Royce 🇺🇦May 15

"Wacht even, ik ben net mijn tulpenveld aan het defragmenteren"

fixed it for you

Drew Naylor May 15

@Natasha_Jay The XP Defrag UI was so cool.

Julio 🏳️‍🌈 🇨🇺 🇪🇸 🇺🇸May 15

@Natasha_Jay LOL.

neodog_flag_disabled

@Natasha_Jay

OMGA I LOVED watching it on my Mac.
Probably why I had multiple drives instead of HiCap ones.
Also the Flying Toasters, Holiday Lights...

JotaLuis ツ May 16

Awesome!

@Natasha_Jay good one!

flamepanther ☢️May 16

@Natasha_Jay We've seen bubble sorting, now here's bulbs sorting

@Natasha_Jay Bravo! And thanks for the dose of nostalgia!

Ken McLeod May 16

@Natasha_Jay Wow, looks like I haven't run this in a very long time.

Jernej Simončič �May 16

@_the_cloud @Natasha_Jay

@Natasha_Jay Scrolling this photo up is super-cool!

computerfairies

@Natasha_Jay Omg lol

Garret Polk (masked)May 16

@Natasha_Jay **Cries from the direction of Norton Utilities**

puppyboy girlthing

@Natasha_Jay you know, young people won't know that word anymore

atlovato May 16

@Natasha_Jay - This makes it a pretty day from last nights Thunderstorm / Tornado watch. Have a good weekend.

Luna Lactea May 16

@Natasha_Jay Oh no! However shall I make use of these several tiny hard drives to store my large files in 2025?!
the humble striped RAID:

Lee Hauser May 16

@Natasha_Jay My oldest son used to insist on sitting on my lap and watching Norton Utilities defrag.

@Natasha_Jay
pro Tipp:
If you ever feel you miss defragging from Windumb buy a 3D printer and watch it printing layer by layer. 😉