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The New Yorker unveils Strongbox, a tool for sources to submit files and tips anonymously
As with most news organizations, a lot of the posts we publish start out as emailed tips from you, our dear readers. But some employees put their jobs on the line when they share info, which, as you might imagine, makes them reluctant to hit send. The New Yorker seems to have a solution that'll offer a much higher degree of anonymity, stripping IP addresses and other identifying data whenever you upload a file or submit a tip. You create an alias, and all correspondence takes place within a secure environment, called Strongbox. Best yet, the code for this tool, called DeadDrop, is completely open-source, so you can download the necessary software and implement it on your own site, free of charge. More info on both are available at the source links below.
New York artist fashions dead drop from dying hardware, mounts DVD burner in city wall
The optical drive may be making its exit in the world of personal computing, but at least it seems to still have a place in artistic architecture. Aram Bartholl -- the man behind New York City's infamous USB dead drops -- has installed a DVD burner into the side of the Museum of the Moving Image to promote HOT, an art exhibition described as "a group show about video that is not video." Passersby who pop in a blank DVD-R will be rewarded with a digital copy of the show and the satisfaction of finally having something to do with their aging stash of unused optical media. Just how do you install PC hardware in a museum wall? Drill an enormous hole, of course -- check out a video of the installation for yourself after the break.
New York City walls play host to covert thumbdrives
Back when the walls had ears, spies would store their information in a hidden cache and pass along the location via code. Now, a New York City artist is doing the same with USB flash drives, five of which he's already injected into the city's brick walls. While there some obvious logistical reasons we'd avoid using his creation (not to mention worries about AutoRun in older PCs) we'll definitely keep the idea in mind for Engadget informants who are particularly paranoid about their anonymity. See the first five drives' not-so-secret locations in photos at our source links.
