Gary Hawkins
garyhawkins.net
Gary Hawkins
@garyhawkins.net
Mostly memes and shitposting, with maybe the occasional smidge of the cybers.
This is my shocked face
November 7, 2025 at 5:26 PM
question for the class...

On 5th November do we celebrate the attempt to blow up parliment and all its occupants, or do we celebrate that the attempt failed? 🤔
November 2, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Not to be outdone, Azure is going head to head with AWS for DNS related outages.

Last week AWS took down Signal, Snapchat, Robolox, Fortnite, Lloyds and and Halifax. Now, Azure has taken down Heathrow, Minecraft, Natwest, Asda, O2, Starbucks and others.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Global Microsoft outage: Heathrow, NatWest and Minecraft among sites down
Microsoft 365 and its Azure cloud computing platform are hit with DNS issues, similar to Amazon's recent outage.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 5:59 PM
It's important to caveat statements like this that no one can access your comms *in transit*. Plenty of orgs may have access to your comms via your devices or the recipient's devices.

To be clear, this is not a Signal thing, it's an electronic comms and E2EE thing.
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).

It’s also concerning. 1/
PSA: we're aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.
October 27, 2025 at 1:25 PM
oh no, they said it's DNS!

Ranty Linkedin posts with redacted DNSViz screenshots and a flimsy grasp on reality inbound in 3... 2...

www.theguardian.com/business/liv...
‘Signs of recovery’ claims Amazon Web Services after internet outage hits many websites and apps – business live
Fortnite, Roblox, SnapChat, Lloyds Bank and Ring doorbells among services hit by online outage
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:56 PM
half the world is burning because somebody elses computer had a whoopsie.
Meanwhile, me - being a +20 year career cyberist with my almost entirely unsmart home: *huh? what'd I miss?*
October 20, 2025 at 9:53 AM
"I accepted the risk"
In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand

I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.
October 12, 2025 at 3:30 PM
@jamiesmart.bsky.social Hi, any chance you're around Cheltenham Literature Festival this weekend?
October 12, 2025 at 1:11 PM
There is no evidence to suggest that the British government is behind malware-laden VPN apps as a deterrent to broad backlash against their age verification checks
www.cleafy.com/cleafy-labs/...
Klopatra: exposing a new Android banking trojan operation with roots in Turkey | Cleafy LABS
In late August 2025, Cleafy's Threat Intelligence team discovered Klopatra, a new, highly sophisticated Android malware currently targeting banking users primarily in Spain and Italy. The number of co...
www.cleafy.com
October 8, 2025 at 5:58 PM
My dad enjoys baiting romance scammers. He's a retired machinist, not a luddite but also not what you'd call tech savvy.

he's reached the usual "I'd love to come visit but I can't afford the plane ticket..."

Where should he take it next to 1) extract useful info, and 2) waste their time?
October 6, 2025 at 12:49 PM
My neighbour has a one year old and a dog, and most times I can't tell which one they're shouting at.

Stop that, put that down!
Don't wee on the carpet!
What have you got, don't run away from me!
Get in your cage!
What's in your mouth?
September 25, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Well that's another rapture over. If you're still here it must mean you suck and the big guy upstairs didn't want you at the party.
September 23, 2025 at 7:24 PM
anyone remember when Obama got flack because his tan-coloured suit was 'unpresedential' and 'inappropriate'?
September 21, 2025 at 8:04 PM
@sonofsuntzu.bsky.social any tips on making mock-up game tiles please? I'm playing with a new idea and my printer can only handle up to 200gsm card

(mechanics shamelessly stolen from @gamewrightbuffalo.bsky.social Forbidden Island)
September 21, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Wales screwed themselves in Brexit. Don't fall for it again!

Some saw Brexit as a 'protest vote' not expecting it to win. Some are tired of Cons and Labour, resentful of seeing things perpetually getting worse.

Surely we've learned by now that drastic change isn't always toward something better.
September 17, 2025 at 12:05 PM
I can't actually remember the last time I purposefully sat down to watch broadcast TV but I think I'll have to make time for this one.

Will it make me unsettlingly angry? Probably.

Will I need a new liver if I make a drinking game of it? Most likely.
Open to suggestions for the rules...
September 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Donald Tusk: "I have no reason to claim we're on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed, and it's incomparably more dangerous than before... This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two".

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c2...
September 10, 2025 at 10:49 AM
A new Banksy mural has appeared on the side of the Royal Courts of Justice building, two days after almost 900 people were arrested at a London protest against the ban on Palestine Action.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
New Banksy mural appears at Royal Courts of Justice
The artwork, which shows a judge hitting a protester with a gavel, was confirmed by the elusive street artist.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 8, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Google's content restrictions for its AI-powered image generator app *Nano Banana* are of course little more than an inconvenience.

Are the benefits of these tools worth the risk of harm that they bring?

www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...
#fakenews #deepfake #ai #nanobanana | Gary Hawkins
Google's Gemini AI app now includes image generation and editing, curiously called *Nano Banana*. They've included strict guidelines such as "avoid generating images that depict real individuals in po...
www.linkedin.com
September 8, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Brain cleaning in progress
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟥
August 26, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Brain cleaning in progress
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟥🟥
August 25, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Brain cleaning in progress
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟥🟥🟥🟥
August 24, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Is there a market for WiFi protection?

I've prototyped 'tiger stones' that create an invisible EMF shield making it impossible for hackers to target you on public wifi.

In testing, 100% of tiger stone users reported zero public wifi hacking incidents.

introductoty offer only £199.99
August 11, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Who'd have thought @teenvogue.com would emerge as the hero of the people in the fight against facism!?

This caveat has been absent from almost every other advisory article I've seen on the subject "While there’s never any guarantee that law enforcement officers will follow the law..."
Dealing with law enforcement can be stressful, so it’s important to know your rights before you’re face-to-face with ICE agents. While there’s never any guarantee that law enforcement officers will follow the law, here’s what they can and can’t legally do to you and what you can legally demand. ⬇️
What Are My Rights During an ICE Raid?
Immigration law can be tricky, but here's what you should know.
www.teenvogue.com
August 6, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Watching Amazon's War of the Worlds. Ten minutes in, would not recommend.

If you were the security advisor on this your SecOps is bad and you should feel bad. Commandeer Drone, global CCTV interception, WhatsApp and Facebook on the same device? Get out.
August 5, 2025 at 6:08 PM