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1,226 karma · joined August 6, 2021

All comments Copyright © 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033 etc. Mason Corkern, All Rights Reserved. All comments, opinions etc. are those of myself.

mcorkern1@tulane.edu https://qf0.org/

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b8··on Denuvo Analysis
A indie game dev phoned home how many players were playing his game that pirated it and he addresses your claim too in the article he posted about it[0]>

0. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/so-52-45-of-people-pl...

b8··on Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
Isn't there another law that taxes research and development?
b8··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (June 2025)
SEEKING WORK | Louisiana, US (LLC is in LA) | Remote or Onsite

Seasoned Penetration Tester with 2+ years of experience that has done contracted work for FAANGs and found serious 0days in their products. Former worked at NCC Group in Chicago and Black Lantern Security doing professional penetration testing.

Services that I offer: Web application penetration testing, source code review, AWS audits + architecture advice, and OSINT theat modeling.

Email: mcorkern1@tulane.edu

Anecdote: Recently my friend who I worked with at IBM solicited my advice on how to secure his startups AWS setup and web application. Even though he has worked for AWS as an architect for 3+ years I was still able to offer him significant recommendations.

b8··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (June 2025)
Seeking: Any role that I can use my technical skills in. Security analyst, consultant, technical support etc. I'm pretty desperate to be candid.

Location: Louisiana

Remote: Yes, and/or on-site. I'm experienced with both.

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: C++, C#, Python.

Résumé/CV: Full resume on request.

Email: mcorkern1@tulane.edu

GitHub: https://github.com/qf0

Misc: I have over two years of full-time security consulting and blue team experience at NCC Group and Black Lantern Security. Also, I have two 0days and received CVEs under my name and a company research blog post to go along with it. Done contracting for FAANGs and found 0days in their products. Worked at IBM as a programmer too.

I'm eligible for a security clearance and willing to do government work. Already passed a FSP once, but was denied agency specific suitability.

b8··on WeatherStar 4000+: Weather Channel Simulator
I wish the watermark was smaller, because it blocks so much info.
b8··on Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?
- GiveWell

- QubesOS

- FSF

- Institute for Justice

b8··on University of the People: Tuition-Free and Accredited Online Degree Programs
They earned regional accreditation back in February this year and offer associate as well as bachelor computer science degrees.
b8··on SMS 2FA is not just insecure, it's also hostile to mountain people
Newer phones offer free satellite texting, so that should solve their problem.
b8··on SMS 2FA is not just insecure, it's also hostile to mountain people
Google Fi charges $10 PER 1GB of data. US Mobile is cheaper and offers the top 3 providers in the US.
b8··on I hacked a dating app (and how not to treat a security researcher)
Which has never happened before and if it does then the EFF would back you presumably.
b8··on Jury orders NSO to pay $167M for hacking WhatsApp users
They're based in Israel, so it's unlikely they'll pay. It's interesting that Zerodium has slowly stopped their gears (at least publicly) even though the USG was buying their exploits to target HVTs. It's like when the DOJ posts an arrest warrant for a Russian or a Chinese military official, it's mainly for show.
b8··on DoorDash to acquire Deliveroo
They do use devices to keep the food warm such as the pizza like boxes. Also, my family members who DoorDash wait by popular destinations to pickup orders quicker and they deliver them within 20 minutes.
b8··on What New Orleans Taught Me
Yeah injury lawyers are prevalent, because they can get paid $50k and under without having a jury. Lots of lawyers conspire with judges to get favourable decisions.
b8··on What New Orleans Taught Me
NOLACon is nice too. I'm down to meetup for Xbox Game development (I have a DevKit) and hacking stuff. The sites Slack invite link is dead btw.
b8··on What New Orleans Taught Me
I grew up in Louisiana and have been to NOLA a lot (also studied at Tulane). While there's NOLACon etc. there isn't much tech here and not a lot of jobs. Lots of us live in poverty. Laissez faire and corrupt politics have been in Louisiana for a long time. Lots of public schools are closing to be replaced by private schools. NOLA floods pretty good every 5ish years, so it's not a good place to live imo + the insurance and crime rates are very high.

However, I've lived in Chicago, Austin, KY and Omaha. I moved back and honestly I like it here. I hated it when I grew up, but the cost of living is cheap and the food is good. I got my real ID here back in 2016 when I got my learners permit which surprised people in Chicago. Also we got phone app IDs pretty early. It's getting a little better.

b8··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (May 2025)
Seeking: A full-time Security Analyst/Consultant position. I'm open to other opportunities that utilize my technical skills and experience.

Location: Louisiana

Remote: Yes, and/or on-site. I'm experienced with both.

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: C++, C#, Python.

Résumé/CV: Full resume on request.

Email: mcorkern1@tulane.edu

GitHub: https://github.com/qf0

Misc: I have over two years of full-time security consulting and blue team experience at NCC Group and Black Lantern Security. Also, I have two 0days and received CVEs under my name and a company research blog post to go along with it.

I'm eligible for a security clearance and willing to do government work. Already passed a FSP once, but was denied agency specific suitability.

b8··on I wouldn't get into a Tesla Robotaxi
Comma.ai is doing fine just by using cameras. Waymo self driving cars won't drive in conditions that would hinder cameras. Thermal cameras are the next step imo.
b8··on Disney worker who hacked menus gets 3 years in prison
The restitution seems too high. He probably was fired for going on mat leave as other companies have shown to do and wanted payback. The "unspecified misconduct" firing reason seems weird and they won't expand on it.
b8··on Googler... ex-Googler
The website works smoothly on my Pixel 6A. Not sure if it's JavaScript or some other software issues taking up your Mac's hardware resources.
b8··on The PS3 Licked the Many Cookie
Yeah the xb360 had better graphics and I couldn't play on a PS3 because of the bad quality. PS3 graphics hurt my eyes too.
b8··on Pentagon to terminate $5.1B in IT contracts with Accenture, Deloitte
Good. Government contractors usually overcharge the government and then the contractors don't do much all day. It'd be cheaper to hire internally or pick cheaper contractors. Lot's of documented fraud, waste and abuse with government contractors.
b8··on How a $2k 'Made in the USA' Phone Is Manufactured
True, but they're also outdated hardware rise. They also sell a service for "aweSIM" which is suppose to be a privacy sim card, but they literally just sign up for you and then overcharge you. Better to use a MNVO like US Mobile and giving them fake PI.
b8··on How a $2k 'Made in the USA' Phone Is Manufactured
There's YouTube tutorials and folks that will help out. It's the price you pay when you save money.
b8··on How a $2k 'Made in the USA' Phone Is Manufactured
It's cheaper just to buy the hardware from China and install their OS on it. They overcharge for a lot of their products including their mini pc which you can just boy from aliexpress and install coreboot on it for way cheaper, https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-Top-mini-pc-i7-10....
b8··on How a $2k 'Made in the USA' Phone Is Manufactured
Sure, https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-Top-mini-pc-i7-10... is the minipc they use. Just buy it directly from China and install Coreboot.
b8··on How a $2k 'Made in the USA' Phone Is Manufactured
Purism also markups their mini PC by a lot. Bunch of scammers IMO. Source: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-Top-mini-pc-i7-10...
b8··on Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
Search Indexers are still way faster than LLMs currently, so I use Kagi or searxnc.
b8··on Max severity RCE flaw discovered in widely used Apache Parquet
A new scoring system should be made that is a better signal.
b8··on Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator
Welcome!! I was worried for a second that you were the Fallout Tom Howard, lol.
b8··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (April 2025)
Seeking: A full-time Security Analyst/Consultant position. I'm open to other opportunities that utilize my technical skills and experience.

Location: Louisiana

Remote: Yes, and/or on-site. I'm experienced with both.

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: C++, C#, Python.

Résumé/CV: Full resume on request.

Email: mcorkern1@tulane.edu

GitHub: https://github.com/qf0

Misc: I have over two years of full-time security consulting and blue team experience at NCC Group and Black Lantern Security. Also, I have two 0days and received CVEs under my name and a company research blog post to go along with it.

I'm eligible for a security clearance and willing to do government work. Already passed a FSP once, but was denied agency specific suitability.

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