Having trouble accessing a favorite Web site? Perhaps the site was taken offline, or the computer hosting it is down for maintenance. However, the cause could be something more mysterious. At any given moment, a portion of Internet traffic ends up being routed into information “black holes.” These are situations where advertised paths exist to the destination, but messages - a request to visit a Web site, an outgoing e-mail - get lost along the way.
Hubble is a system that operates continuously to find persistent Internet black holes as they occur.
Link: University of Washington
Most people know that Nmap was demonstrated in the Matrix Reloaded. Nmap trivia buffs may also know that Nmap source code was displayed in the 2000 movie Battle Royale ( [Screen1] [Screen2] [Trivia]). Lesser known is that it was featured in a 3rd movie after these two appearances. Nmap made the leap from Science Fiction to “hacker pr0n” with the release of HaXXXor Volume 1: No Longer Floppy. In a seven-minute chapter, the lovely E-Lita walks us through downloading, compiling, and executing Nmap while keeping our attention by methodically removing her clothing :).
You can buy the DVD (cover image) for $10 at conferences such as Defcon or from the HaXXXor Girls web site. It contains other chapters such as “Naked Dumpster Diving” and “Young Love (Of Government Encryption)”. Fortunately, the producers have allowed us to post screen shots and even video clips of the entire Nmap scene! This way we don’t have to violate copyright laws as we did with the Matrix :). Here are some screenshots:
Link: Nmap