US Homeland Security Extension v. 0.4

I have updated the US Homeland Security Threat Level Extension.

Version 0.4 has the following updates, based on input from users:

The name was changed to 'US Homeland Security Threat Level'
The .png images were compressed.
The link to DHS is now available off of a menu, rather than by clicking the icon itself.
The web service that is used was changed to the DHS web site.

One thing I am working on for future versions is the ability to specify a URL to go to for each of the threat levels.

Any other suggestions are welcome.

You can download versin 0.4 here.

11 comments

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Beau said...: Good stuff man.; 12/20/04 9:44 PM
SomeRandomGuy said...: that is a terrible idea. the only purpose of the color coded system is to keep the public afraid so they can do whatever they want and tell anyone who complains that it is for security. and you are helping them to do this. like someone is gonna see a yellow square and say "ooooooooooooh elevated! this significantly changes my plans for today". this color coded system is completely useless and should be ignored and ridiculed untill it is done away with. instead of simply protecting us the government finds it much easier to tell us how afraid we should be each day. they dont tell you about how afraid you should be of the fact that they are slowly stripping away your civil liberties, because they think you'll accept this if the little box on CNN turns red. its all bull&%$t and i want no part of it.; 12/21/04 1:57 PM
Scott Stroz said...: Like most people who have made disparaging remarks about my extension, you obviously did not take the time to read any of the reasons for it. First, I think the whole threat level system is a joke. However, that does not take away from the fact that there are companies and agencies who need to modify their operating procedures based on the threat level. These agencies include Emergency Services (fire, police and EMS) and others that provide public service. On a personal note, if you were flying somewhere and the threat level was raised (regardles of the reason, or seemingly arbitrary way it is changed) you should expect more delays than usual. Not trying to be a fear monger, just trying to help those few (and I emphasize few) people, agencies or companies that need to at least know what the threat level is. As I have said numerous times in the past, if you think this is stupid, or a waste, or useless, you are not part of the target audience.; 12/21/04 2:21 PM
Jake said...: Keep going dude, you're doing good work, even if idiots like SomeRandomGuy aren't smart enough to set aside their personal biases and actually read the background.

You're doing good work.; 12/23/04 12:19 AM
Jeffrey Farrell said...: This is cool because it looks neat. I can't believe the people that did not get the humor.; 12/30/04 2:24 PM
Jeffrey Farrell said...: Are you going to lower the threat level any time soon?

Just kidding...; 12/30/04 2:24 PM
asdf said...: Post a screenshot of it, please.; 1/18/05 11:58 PM
na said...: US Homeland Security Extension v. 0.4 does not work with the latest nightly versions of Firefox. Thanks for this extension otherwise, though.; 6/2/05 12:38 PM
Nick said...: I tried to download your US Homeland file, and the link doesn't work.; 9/17/06 5:40 PM
ev said...: i really like this addon, as i work for DHS and travel a great deal. with the laptop i can keep track of changes and not need to fone home or use the cell fone or email in IM to stay in the loop. i would add that i am hoping you will add one small function to the addon, we currently list the alert level for the aviation sector as Orange (high) but since its not the general alert level, this isnt reflected in the addon. i would like you to add something that also gives or lists the aviation sectors alert level, if you could. itd help. thanks,

ev; 2/24/07 5:23 AM
PrivatePud said...: Hey! I've been using the "Homeland Insecurity" Firefox extension, by Mike Ely, who said his thingy was a rewrite of your own threat level extension.

It's a cool idea, but I did have a concern that you might be able to address.

I just installed a new firewall that lets me track network traffic by url/IP address. I noticed right away that my computer was connecting regularly (every several minutes) to www.dhs.gov -- DHS's live site.

After a momentary flash of paranoia, I realized the extension has to receive info re the color-coded threat level etc. But it was also sending information to the DHS server as well. Mostly this was a smallish chunk -- 400 to 1,200 bytes. But at other times it was sending much larger chunks of data -- 18K or so. I suppose it's been doing this as long as I've had the extension installed. When I decided to disable the extension, the firewall logged more than a half-dozen connections, with several hundred K of data being sent to DHS.

I don't have anything to hide from DHS. I'm sure they're doing a fine job etc etc. But I'm curious to see if you have any idea just what data this add-on collects, or allows to be collected and passed on to the DHS server?

Regards,
--PrivatePud; 7/16/07 1:48 AM

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US Homeland Security Extension v. 0.4

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