title: Victoria Police

text: In 2015, Victoria Police employed The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) to examine the nature and prevalence of sex discrimination, including predatory behaviour, amongst Victoria Police personnel. Kate Jenkins was appointed the Commissioner and, in mid December 2015, VEOHRC revealed its findings. Shortly after, on 9 December 2015, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ashton apologised over the high tolerance and prevalence of sexual harassment and the sexual discrimination and gender inequality within Victoria Police. Ashton pledged a change of direction and the implementation of all 20 recommendations by VEOHRC.


title: Victoria Police

text: In December 2016, Police Minister Lisa Neville announced the recruitment of 2,735 new Victoria Police officers, the largest in the organisation's history as part of Victoria's first Community Safety Statement.


title: Victoria Police

text: In September 2017, Transport Accident Commission (TAC) notified Victoria Police of "anomalies" in the preliminary breath tests statistics data. TAC and Victoria Police analyzed more than 17.1m tests starting February 2012 and found that 258,463, or less than 1.5% tests were probably false. As a result, in mid 2018, TAC froze $4m funding to Victoria Police operations. Victoria Police also started an internal investigation into the matter, notified IBAC and appointed former chief commissioner Neil Comrie to conduct an investigation into the causes. A preliminary report suggested that unrealistic management demands of between 50 and 100 breath tests per shift was a possible cause to faking the tests. The methods used by police officers was that of placing a finger over the straw entry hole of breath testing equipment or blowing into the straw themselves.


title: Victoria Police

text: In April 2018, Victoria Police officers from the Preston station were suspended 'over allegations of brutality' and a fifth, from the Bendigo area, has 'been assigned to other duties' following a claim 'in which a man had his head thrown against a police cell door'.


title: Victoria Police

text: Between 1853 and 1877, when the first Victoria Police officers emerged, the uniforms resembled the military style of the day. Mounted and foot officers wore dark blue jackets buttoned to the neck. Mounted troops wore swords whilst the Gold Escorts carried revolvers and rifles. The foot patrols, as equipment, had wooden batons, notebooks, handcuffs and a whistle to call for assistance when in need. The whistles were fixed to the officer tunic by chain which prevented losing the whistle or falling during a foot chase,


title: Victoria Police

text: In 1877 and until 1947, Victoria Police's uniform resembled British Metropolitan Police's uniform. In 1920, the Wolseley leather "bobby" helmet was also introduced. Policeman were wearing striped pieces of cloth (brassards) on their lower left cuffs to show they were on duty. During World War II, Victoria Police issued anti-shrapnel steel helmets, also referred as "tin hats".


title: Victoria Police

text: Between 1947 and 1979, a major uniform change took place for Victorian Police officers. The bobby helmet was replaced by a black cloth peak cap, a silver police badge was introduced along with white shirts and ties for the general police officers. In 1963, a white pith helmet with a puggaree hatband and a hand-held radio were added to the Victoria Police general duties officers. Along with a new uniform, Victoria Police also introduced the first uniform for women. The uniform for females featured a knee-length skirt, a button-up jacket, a shirt and tie, tights, and peak hats made to fit a lady's hairstyle. Starting with 1972 until 1986, female police officers also carried handbags custom-made to hold batons and firearms.


title: Victoria Police

text: Between 1979 and 2013, police uniforms underwent a number of iterative changes, and there were a total of 83 combinations that a police officer could wear. The changes were mainly as needed based for the general duties policing, with the addition of capsicum sprays, handgun, baton, etc. In 1981, female police officers were approved trousers as part of their uniform and they were issued 54 pantyhose a year. In 2001, the baseball cap was introduced along with akubra and a woollen jumper. One major change happened in 2008 with the introduction of the Integrated Operational Equipment Vest.


title: Victoria Police

text: In November 1986, Victoria Police announced the transition of the motto from "Tenez le droit" to "Uphold the right". This change would start taking place in December 1986.


title: Victoria Police

text: In June 2013, the new dark navy uniform was introduced to all officers as the new standard. The pants are made from rip-stop fabric, while the undergarment is made from cotton stretch, which can be short-sleeved or long-sleeved and is to be worn under the ballistic vest. Baseball caps remained, although they are darker in colour than pre-2013. The new dark uniform was designed to look more professional and to hide blood, dirt and sweat. The dark blue uniform was modelled after the Oxfordshire and Northumberland police attires.


title: Victoria Police

text: Victoria Police has a quasi-military rank structure. The modern policing model developed by Sir Robert Peel for the Metropolitan Police


title: Victoria Police

text: in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century used a military-like organisational structure. Victoria Police has 12 legislated ranks from Constable through to Chief Commissioner with two of the twelve ranks now obsolete. There are also two classifications received through progression First Constable and Leading Senior Constable. In 2002, Victoria Police created the classification of Leading Senior Constable and in December 2011 created the classification of First Constable for confirmed constables both with its own insignia. Reservist is also a rank for former Victoria Police officers who re-join Victoria Police for a non-operational role carrying out administrative duties.


title: Victoria Police

text: The ranks of chief inspector and chief superintendent are no longer promotable ranks since the changes in hierarchy in 2014. The previous and last chief superintendent, Peter McDonald, retired from Victoria Police on 30 September 2014. The last Chief Inspector Christopher K. Coster retired on 6 June 2019 after 45 years service. He was the only Chief Inspector to wear the current style and colour uniform.


title: Victoria Police

text: The ordinary hours of work for full-time police officers is 80 hours per fortnight arranged within various shifts to suit service delivery needs.


title: Victoria Police

text: There are a number of other penalties that a police officer benefits, including civilian clothing, camping out, uniform allowance, daily meals or attendance to court, courses, trips away from home, etc. Other allowances include leadership allowance for Sergeants and Senior Sergeants, capability allowance for Constable - Senior Constable and PSO's.


title: Victoria Police

text: Recruits are paid a salary whilst training. During the first 12 weeks, recruits are paid $52,370 per annum. At the end of week 12 when a recruit becomes a (constable) sworn officer of Victoria Police is paid $71,947 per annum. Part-time is not available for recruits. Training is ongoing for first two years as a probationary constable. Study leave is available post probationary stage. Further in-house courses and training are available


title: Victoria Police

text: All sworn officers start at the lowest rank of constable and are able to progress and be promoted to higher ranks. After their 2-year probationary period, the Constable receives their confirmation and becomes a permanent officer of Victoria Police as a First Constable.


title: Victoria Police

text: Constables are promoted "in situ" to senior constable after two years of becoming a confirmed Constable and successful completion of re-introduced Senior Constable exams. Promotion beyond senior constable is highly competitive. The newly promoted officer is in probation for 1 year.


title: Victoria Police

text: Leading senior constable is awarded "in situ" but only after assessments have been made against the senior constable's ability to move to the higher position. Leading senior constables are now capable of being upgraded to acting sergeant and it is expected that the position is one that people will move through as they are promoted.


title: Victoria Police

text: Promotion to the rank of sergeant is based upon an application and interview process after a vacancy is made available due to transfer or retirement of a pre-existing sergeant. Senior constables must first successfully complete the Sergeant Level Pre-promotional Qualifying Exam. A sergeant normally manages a team during a shift, like Patrol Supervisor of a Police Service Area (PSA) for a shift. A detective sergeant is typically in charge of a team in a specific part of either local detectives at police stations or crime squads.


title: Victoria Police

text: A senior sergeant oversees the sergeants and traditionally performs more administrative work and middle management duties, for example coordination of policing operations, or specialist work other than active patrol duties. General-duties senior sergeants are traditionally in charge of most police stations or can be a sub-charge (or second in charge) of larger (usually 24-hour) police stations. In each division, or group of divisions on a night shift, a senior sergeant is the division supervisor for a shift and is responsible for managing and overseeing incidents in their area. Detective senior sergeants are usually the officer in charge of crime investigation units.


title: Victoria Police

text: Additional classifications are available for officers skilful enough, and upon completion of certain training and work-based performances, for classification of detective at senior constable level. Detectives also hold classification up to superintendent.


title: Victoria Police

text: Victoria Police divides the state into four geographic regions with each region allocated dedicated resources and each region is commanded by an Assistant Commissioner. The regions are:


title: Victoria Police

text: The Protective Services Unit (PSU) was established in 1986 following a security review. The first deployment of a Protective Services Officer (PSO) was on 1 May 1988. The PSU has two divisions: Security and Transit. PSU is part of Transit and Public Safety Command (TPSC), along with the Dog Squad, Mounted Branch, Search and Rescue, Special Operations Group, Water Police, Operations Response Unit, Sex Industry Coordination Unit.


title: Victoria Police

text: The PSU security division maintains static security at designated locations in Victoria, mainly in Melbourne metropolitan area. PSOs have specific powers for the area they serve.


title: Victoria Police

text: PSOs are based on the Victorian suburban railway network and are deployed at all railway stations in the Melbourne metropolitan area. PSOs focus mostly on anti-social behaviour, alcohol and drug related offences, weapon offences, property damage, either individual or corporate, crimes against the person.


title: Victoria Police

text: Victoria maintained police mounted units prior to the establishment of Victoria Police. The first mounted police unit was formed in 1838. The Mounted Branch is the second oldest continuously operating mounted police unit in the world after the NSW Mounted Police. Historically, the Mounted Branch has taken part in operations against Bushrangers, and guarded gold shipments from the Goldfields. For a lot of its history, the force had largely operated from its barracks at Southbank from 1912, but is now based at Attwood, near Melbourne airport. Modern duties include crowd control, patrolling, public relations and sports events.


title: Victoria Police

text: Recognition of the bravery and good conduct of Victoria Police employees is shown through the awarding of honours and decorations. Employees (including both sworn and unsworn personnel) are eligible to receive awards both as a part of the Australian Honours System and the internal Victoria Police awards system.


title: Victoria Police

text: Victoria Police employees, like those of their counterparts in other states police forces, are eligible for awards under the Australian Honours System, including:


title: Victoria Police

text: Equipment is carried by officers in a nylon equipment belt, also known as a gun or weapon belt. The nylon belt, specifically designed to be very light-weight, was first issued in 2003 as a replacement for worn leather belts. The belt consists of one firearm holster placed on the hip (either side), one firearm magazine pouch, one ASP (baton) pouch, one OC Spray pouch, one hand cuff pouch and one holder for the portable radio.


title: Victoria Police

text: Victoria Police started a roll-out of a new uniform design in June 2013 for sworn members, protective service officers, reservists and recruits. The new uniform was the first time in over thirty years Victoria Police had significantly changed their uniform, which at the time of replacement could be worn in over eighty different combinations. The new design can be worn in either an operational or station/office dress configuration.


title: Victoria Police

text: Other holsters can be added to the belt to suit members duties such as a clip to hold the polycarbonate baton or mag light. In 2007/08, the chief commissioner approved the issue of firearm holsters which could be strapped around the members thighs, to replace the low-riding belt gun holster. These holsters are not standard issue but are issued to members upon request, and are commonly requested by members who suffer from back aches (as a result of heavy utility belt), or those who find it more operationally sound to draw their firearms from a lower position (as this option offers a more comfortable reach).


title: Victoria Police

text: Operational Dress of Victoria Police consists of navy blue cargo/tactical pants, a navy blue long/short sleeved undergarment or shirt, an integrated operational equipment vest (IOEV), a navy blue baseball cap or a wide Brimmed hat (common in rural areas) and black boots. When police members or protective service officers are assigned to duties where they are required to be easily identified, or for occupational health and safety reasons, a high-visibility yellow cover may be put on the IOEV. In 2018, a new style of ballistic vest was announced.


title: Victoria Police

text: Station/office dress consists of navy blue trousers, navy blue long or short sleeved shirts (which can be worn either open-neck or with a tie), navy blue peaked hat and black boots/shoes.


title: Victoria Police

text: Some specialist units of Victoria Police, such as the Air Wing, Public Order Response Team, Critical Incident Response Team, Search and Rescue Squad and the Special Operations Group, wear uniforms which are customised to their specialist roles.


title: Victoria Police

text: Officers are issued with the M&P40 semi-automatic pistol and also carry an ASP brand 21-inch expandable baton, Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Spray, handcuffs and small torch. The vast majority of officers carry a Motorola brand portable radio (with or without handpiece) for use on either the Metropolitan Mobile Radio (MMR) or Regional Mobile Radio (RMR) network.


title: Victoria Police

text: In the 1970s, officers were trained to use the FN Model 1910 .32 semi-automatic pistol which they could carry concealed in their tunic. In 1979, Victoria Police began replacing the Model 1910 with the Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver. By the mid-1980s, all officers were routinely openly carrying a revolver.


title: Victoria Police

text: In the mid-2000s, Victoria Police was set to become the last police service in Australia still using a revolver. Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon was reluctant to transition to a modern semi-automatic pistol. The Bracks Labor government was convinced by the police association and made an election policy for the 2006 Victorian state election to allocate $10 million in funding which would also cover equipping all police cars with tasers.


title: Victoria Police

text: Nixon was placed in a precarious position as police operational decisions including equipment are made independent of government. In September 2007, months after the Bracks labor government had been re-elected, Nixon set up an Independent Expert Advisory Panel to advise her if the revolver needed replacing. In March 2008, the panel recommended to replace the revolver with a self-loading pistol. In May 2008, a police officer was shot in the leg during a violent shootout in which he had to re-load his revolver. The police association erroneously informed the media the officer had been shot whilst re-loading and called for semi-automatic pistols.


title: Victoria Police

text: On 6 June 2008, Nixon announced that Victoria Police would upgrade to semi-automatic pistols and would not be equipping officers with tasers. On 29 April 2010, Victoria Police announced that the M&P40 semi-automatic pistol with a tactical light had been selected to replace the revolver. The roll-out of the new personal issue firearm commenced in November 2010 with all officers required to complete a four-day training course over 18 months.


title: Victoria Police

text: On 19 December 2019, Victoria Police announced the purchase of 300 Daniel Defense DDM4V7S semi-automatic rifles. The rifles will be issued to the Public Order Response Team (PORT) and four 24-hour regional uniform stations – Geelong, Ballarat, Morwell and Shepparton to be securely stored in vehicles. Over 700 Victoria Police officers are to be trained in the use of the rifles to be able to respond to critical incidents. The roll-out of the rifles will commence in June 2020 and will be completed by the end of 2021. The Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) are both issued with the SIG MCX SBR rifle and a variety of shotguns.


title: Victoria Police

text: Victoria Police's fleet comprises a wide range of different vehicles including Mercedes, Volkswagen, Hyundai, BMW, Tesla and more. In 2018/19 Victoria Police introduced a revamp to their highway patrol fleet, which previously contained mainly Holden VFs. During the revamp, State Highway Patrol was also announced. SHP is the same as Highway Patrol, but it does have a different design as well as few different types of cars, including the Tesla Model X. SHP is not seen all that often as they are used more predominantly in non-metropolitan areas. Victoria Police's general duties fleet now mainly uses SUVs including the new Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Kluger. They also use 4WDs in rural areas Toyota LandCruiser Prado, Mitsubishi Pajero and Holden Colorados. VICPOL's main frontline response vehicle is their divisional 'divi' van. The first 'modern' version of this unit started out as a Holden Ute based on the 2010 Holden Omega. Announced in 2010, VICPOL partnered with Holden to bring 200 of these vehicles to replace the old, aging divi van fleet of 160 cars, bringing an extra 40 divisional vans to VICPOL's fleet. Most VICPOL stations across the state have at least one divisional van including other general duties and specialist vehicles. In 2021, Victoria Police announced a new Divisional van to join the fleet, the Ford Ranger (see below). The new Ford Ranger includes numerous new safety features including CCTV cameras all over the van, including in the prisoner compartment, where police officers can monitor the prisoner at all times by flicking a switch on the rearview mirror. Malvern and Maryborough were the first stations to receive the new van, VICPOL said it would take 14 months to replace the entire fleet of the older Holden Colorado divi vans announced in 2018. VICPOL will now be replacing these vehicles every three years. On 7 March 2014, the Water Police purchased a new catamaran vessel. The $1.9 million, 14.9-metre-long boat will assist in the search for people stranded at sea or washed overboard and during periods of total darkness, poor light and rough seas. The vessel has the ability to scan the seabed for sunken vessels, and a radar can be switched into heat seeking mode to help locate a person at night, or in situations of poor visibility and rough conditions.


title: Victoria Police

text: The main training for Victoria Police during the first 31 weeks, until a member becomes fully operational, is done at Victoria Police Academy.


title: Victoria Police

text: In order to increase the Academy's capacity to accommodate the training of an additional 1700 police and 940 PSOs by November 2014, $15.4 million was provided to Victoria Police to upgrade the Victoria Police Academy in 2013–14.


title: Victoria Police

text: Construction of a new police training facility alongside the new Victorian Emergency Management Training Centre in Craigieburn commenced in 2013–14.


title: Victoria Police

text: The new $30 million Victoria Police OTST facility will replace the existing facility located at Essendon Fields, and was due for completion in March 2015.


title: Victoria Police

text: The new facility will house administration and training staff and include a specially-designed indoor firing range, scenario training village, classrooms, an auditorium, conference centre and fitness facilities. Police will be required to undertake compulsory training twice a year at the facility.


title: Victoria Police

text: From 1990 to 2004, Victorian police accounted for 38% of fatal police shootings in Australia. Victoria police were also responsible for 2 fatal police shootings between 2008 and 2011.


title: Victoria Police

text: Memorials to officers killed on duty are maintained at the Chapel of Remembrance within the main chapel of the Victoria Police Academy at Glen Waverley in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. There is also a memorial to police officers who have died on duty in Kings Domain, Melbourne, as well as the National Police Memorial in Canberra. Online Honour Rolls are maintained on the Victoria Police website:


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: Vicious is a British television sitcom shown on ITV. The series stars Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi as Freddie and Stuart, an elderly couple who have been together for 50 years but endure a love/hate relationship. The series premiered on 29 April 2013 with 5.78 million viewers.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: On 14 May 2016, McKellen and Jacobi appeared as Freddie and Stuart during the Eurovision Song Contest where they are seen watching the contest.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: "Vicious" is set around the lives of ageing partners Freddie and Stuart, who have lived together in their Covent Garden flat for 49 years. Freddie was a struggling actor and Stuart worked in a bar when they first met. While Stuart is now retired and manages the household, Freddie still takes acting jobs occasionally and waits for his unlikely breakthrough. Their lives consist of entertaining their frequent guests, making sure that their aged dog Balthazar is still breathing, and hurling antagonising comments towards each other.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: A one-off special, and was the show's final episode. It aired 19 June 2016 in the US, and 16 December 2016 in the UK.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: "Vicious" premiered on 29 April 2013 and garnered 5.78 million viewers. The first series ended on 10 June 2013, and was released on DVD on 20 November 2013. On 23 August 2013, it was confirmed that "Vicious" had been renewed for a second series, which began airing on 1 June 2015 and concluded on 6 July 2015.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: Starting in late June 2014, the first series began airing in the United States on various PBS stations.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: It was confirmed in December 2015 that the series would be ending in 2016 with a Final Special. The special was filmed at The London Studios on the 22nd and 23 December 2015.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: On 19 June 2016 the Finale Special was aired in the United States on PBS and six months later on 16 December 2016 in the UK.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: "Vicious" was met with generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 80% "Fresh" rating based on ten reviews which are all from American critics in 2014.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy wrote a mixed review, finding the show an "uncomfortable blend of coarse humour and '70s sitcom-style cosiness". Describing the script as "lazy", he thought that the show couldn't "decide if it wants to be edgy and rude or traditional fun for all the family", but praised the "strong" cast, ultimately awarding the series two out of five stars.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: Kevin O'Sullivan of the "Sunday Mirror" called it a "horrible half-hour of 1970s-style net curtain cosiness" in a negative review of ITV's Monday night comedy offerings. In a 29 April 2013 review in the "Telegraph", Benjamin Secher claimed it is "the least funny new comedy in recent memory", giving it 1 out of 5 stars. He also wrote that "the script fell disastrously flat". Writing in the "London Evening Standard", Brian Sewell described the series as "a spiteful parody that could not have been nastier had it been devised and written by a malevolent and recriminatory heterosexual".


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: The series was twice nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series while the finale was nominated for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series.


title: Vicious (TV series)

text: The first series of "Vicious" was released on DVD in the UK on 20 November 2013 by 4DVD. The second series was released on 13 July 2015. Neither release contains the 2013 Christmas special which remains unreleased on DVD in the UK so far (though it is available on the North American release).


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: "If You Leave Me Now" is a song by the American rock group Chicago, from their album "Chicago X". It was written and sung by bass player Peter Cetera and released as a single on July 30, 1976. It is also the title of a Chicago compilation album released by Columbia Records (Columbia 38590) in 1983.


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: The single topped the "Billboard" Hot 100 on October 23, 1976, and stayed there for two weeks, making it the first number one hit for the group as well as hitting number one on the Easy Listening charts. "If You Leave Me Now" was also Chicago's biggest hit internationally, topping the charts in other countries such as the UK, Australia, Ireland, Canada, and Netherlands. In the UK it maintained the number one position for three weeks. It was one of five "non-disco" songs to make it to number one in the US in a nine-month period of 1976. According to writer Zachary Houle of "PopMatters", "The song was so pervasive on radio upon its release that, reportedly, those tuning in within New York could hear the song playing on four different stations, each with varying formats, simultaneously."


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: The song won Grammy Awards for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) (strings) for arranger Jimmie Haskell and producer James William Guercio and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus, the first Grammy Award won by the group. It also received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. In addition, by August 1978 it had sold 1.4 million copies in the United States alone. It has been certified gold and platinum by the RIAA. In an article from June 2020, "The Guardian" listed "If You Leave Me Now" as number 73 on its list of "The Greatest UK No 1s: 100–1", noting, "It’s impossibly lush and beautifully written, but its sadness is pervasive and affecting."


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: In 2010 Chicago teamed with the American Cancer Society and offered the opportunity to bid on the chance to sing their hit, "If You Leave Me Now" with them on stage live at their concerts, with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society to fight breast cancer. The fund raising effort has continued in succeeding years.


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: Peter Cetera originally wrote "If You Leave Me Now" at the same time as "Chicago VII"'s "Wishing You Were Here", and composed it on a guitar. According to information on the sheet music for the song at MusicNotes, "If You Leave Me Now" is written in the key of B major, and Cetera's vocal range varies between F sharp 4 (F♯) and D sharp 6 (D♯).


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: "Cash Box" said that it's "an excellent ballad," with "lushly colored" instrumentation and "carefully constructed" vocals.


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: In 1992, German music group Chess covered the song which achieved modest success. While the original is a ballad, Chess's version is uptempo and danceable, adapted to the state of dance music of the 1990s. Their version is also on the compilations "Larry präsentiert: Neue Smash-Hits 93" (English: "Larry presents: New Smash-Hits 93") and "Maxi Dance Sensation 9".


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: Peter Cetera re-recorded "If You Leave Me Now" as a solo artist for his 1997 album "," and most recently recorded a duet version of the song with Italian vocalist, Filippa Giordano, for her 2018 album, "Friends and Legends Duets".


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: The website SecondHandSongs lists over 130 covers of "If You Leave Me Now" by recording artists from around the world between 1976 and 2020, among them:


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: British DJ, producer, songwriter and former member of the Outlaw Posse, K-Gee, together with Michelle Escoffery performed a hip hop version of "If You Leave Me Now" for K-Gee's 2002 album, "Bounce to This". In 2000, K-Gee told "Billboard" writer Kwaku that he thought the chorus of "If You Leave Me Now" sounds phat.


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: "If You Leave Me Now" is featured in the soundtrack of the video game "Grand Theft Auto V" (appearing on the in-game radio station Los Santos Rock Radio), and is also played when Trevor Philips returns the kidnapped wife of a drug kingpin.


title: If You Leave Me Now

text: The song is also featured in an episode, "Casa Bonita", of South Park, as well as "Egg Drop", the 12th episode of the third season of the American sitcom "Modern Family". The song was also featured in a scene on the British comedy horror film "Shaun of the Dead" where Shaun is still reeling from his breakup and Ed is trying to cheer him up. In the early 2000's, the song was performed by the mascot "Sockpuppet" in a commercial for the now-defunct website Pets.com.


title: Lambton Worm

text: The Lambton Worm is a legend from County Durham in north-east England in the United Kingdom. The story takes place around the River Wear, and is one of the area's most famous pieces of folklore, having been adapted from written and oral tradition into pantomime and song formats.


title: Lambton Worm

text: The story revolves around John Lambton, an heir of the Lambton Estate, County Durham (now in Tyne and Wear), and his battle with a giant worm (dragon) that had been terrorising the local villages. As with most myths, details of the story change with each telling.


title: Lambton Worm

text: The story states that the young John Lambton was a rebellious character who missed church one Sunday to go fishing in the River Wear. In many versions of the story, while walking to the river, or setting up his equipment, John receives warnings from an old man (or a witch – depending on who tells the story) that no good can come from missing church.


title: Lambton Worm

text: John Lambton does not catch anything until the church service finishes, at which point he fishes out a small eel- or lamprey-like creature with nine holes on each side of its salamander-like head. Depending on the version of the story, the worm is no bigger than a thumb, or about long. In some renditions it has legs, while in others it is said to more closely resemble a snake.


title: Lambton Worm

text: At this point, the old man returns, although in some versions it is a different character. John declares that he has "catched [caught] the devil" and decides to dispose of his catch by discarding it down a nearby well. The old man then issues further warnings about the nature of the beast.


title: Lambton Worm

text: John then forgets about the creature and eventually grows up. As a penance for his rebellious early years, he joins the Crusades. Because the story is often said to have taken place in the 14th century, he likely fought in the Barbary Crusade or Lithuanian Crusade.


title: Lambton Worm

text: Eventually, the worm grows extremely large and the well becomes poisonous. The villagers start to notice livestock going missing and discover that the fully-grown worm has emerged from the well and coiled itself around a local hill.


title: Lambton Worm

text: Earlier, and local, versions of the legend associate the hill with Worm Hill, in Fatfield. In most versions of the story, the worm is large enough to wrap itself around the hill seven times. It is said that one can still see the marks of the worm on Worm Hill. However, in the later song the hill is Penshaw Hill on which the Penshaw Monument now stands.


title: Lambton Worm

text: The worm terrorises the nearby villages, eating sheep, preventing cows from producing milk, and snatching away small children. It then heads towards Lambton Castle, where the Lord (John Lambton's aged father) manages to sedate the creature in what becomes a daily ritual of offering the worm the milk of nine good cows – twenty gallons, or a filled trough.


title: Lambton Worm

text: A number of brave villagers try to kill the beast, but are quickly dispatched. When a chunk is cut off the worm, it simply reattaches the missing piece. Visiting knights also try to assault the beast, but none survive. When annoyed, the worm uproots trees by coiling its tail around them, then creates devastation by waving around the uprooted trees like a club.


title: Lambton Worm

text: After seven years, John Lambton returns from the Crusades to find his father's estates almost destitute because of the worm. John decides to fight it, but first seeks the guidance of a wise woman or witch near Durham.


title: Lambton Worm

text: The witch hardens John's resolve to kill the beast by explaining his responsibility for the worm. She tells him to cover his armour in spearheads and fight the worm in the River Wear, where it now spends its days wrapped around a great rock. The witch also tells John that after killing the worm he must then kill the first living thing he sees, or else his family will be cursed for nine generations and will not die in their beds.


title: Lambton Worm

text: John prepares his armour according to the witch's instructions and arranges with his father that, when he has killed the worm, he will sound his hunting horn three times. On this signal, his father is to release his favourite hound so that it will run to John, who can then kill the dog and thus avoid the curse.


title: Lambton Worm

text: John Lambton then fights the worm by the river. The worm tries to crush him, wrapping him in its coils, but it cuts itself on his armour's spikes; the pieces of the worm fall into the river, and are washed away before they can join up again. Eventually, the worm is dead and John sounds his hunting horn three times.


title: Lambton Worm

text: Unfortunately, John's father is so excited that the beast is dead that he forgets to release the hound and rushes out to congratulate his son. John cannot bear to kill his father and so, after they meet, the hound is released and dutifully dispatched. But it is too late and nine generations of Lambtons are cursed so they shall not die peacefully in their beds. Thus, the story ends.


title: Lambton Worm

text: This curse seems to have held true for at least three generations, possibly helping to contribute to the popularity of the story.


title: Lambton Worm

text: The story was made into a song (Roud #2337), written in 1867 by C. M. Leumane, which passed into oral tradition and has several slightly different variants (most notably the use of "goggly" or "googly" eyes meaning bulging and searching, a term formerly widely used on Wearside). It features several words only found in Northumbrian dialect.


title: Lambton Worm

text: Bram Stoker's 1911 novel "The Lair of the White Worm" and Ian Watson's 1988 novel "The Fire Worm" draw heavily on the Lambton Worm legend.


title: Lambton Worm

text: This myth, along with many others originating from the North East, is retold in the graphic novel "Alice in Sunderland" by Bryan Talbot.


title: Lambton Worm

text: Jeff Smith's graphic novel "Rose" has the title character following the same instructions to order to defeat a dragon.


title: Lambton Worm

text: The Lambton Worm legend, including the subsequent death of Henry Lambton, is referred to in Thomas Pynchon's novel "Mason and Dixon"; typically, given the themes of mythology and historiography within the novel, Pynchon alters some details of the legend (for instance, moving to Transylvania the location of the "wise woman" who gives advice given to John Lambton on how to defeat the worm).


title: Lambton Worm

text: A version of the tale was published by Joseph Jacobs, using William Henderson's text in "Folk-Lore of Northern Counties" as a source.


title: Lambton Worm

text: Willam Mayne's children's novel "The Worm in the Well," published in 2002, is an adapted retelling of the Lambton Worm legend.


title: Lambton Worm

text: Sarah Hindmarsh's "The Worm," a short story published in "The Forgotten and the Fantastical 2," edited by Teika Bellamy, is based on the Lambton Worm story.


title: Lambton Worm

text: The modern fantasy novel "The Green Man's Heir" (2018) by Juliet E. McKenna features a surviving juvenile specimen and the urgent need to counter the threat it presents.


title: Lambton Worm

text: In 2018, Mike Mignola & Ben Steinbeck produced a short comic titled "Return of the Lambton Worm," which features a confrontation between the monster and Hellboy.


title: Lambton Worm

text: "The Lambton Worm" (1978) is an opera in two acts by the composer Robert Sherlaw Johnson with a libretto by the Oxford poet Anne Ridler. There are eleven solo roles (four of them major), a chorus and orchestra.


title: Lambton Worm

text: The 1988 film "The Lair of the White Worm" is based on Stoker's novel. Leumane's song is recast in the film as the "d'Ampton Worm", arranged by Emilio Perez Machado and Stephan Powys, and performed by them and Louise Newman.


title: Lambton Worm

text: In 1989, screenwriter Anthony Shaffer wrote a film treatment for "The Loathsome Lambton Worm", a direct sequel to his 1973 film "The Wicker Man". The sequel would have involved the original film's protagonist, a Scottish police officer, battling the Lambton Worm. However, it was never officially produced.


title: Lambton Worm

text: A fan-made full-cast audio drama adaptation of Shaffer's "The Loathsome Lambton Worm" treatment was eventually released in 2020.


title: Historical rankings of prime ministers of Australia

text: Several surveys of academics and the general public have been conducted to evaluate and rank the performance of the prime ministers of Australia.


text: According to Paul Strangio of Monash University, there has been little academic interest in ranking Australian prime ministers, unlike the numerous surveys conducted on American presidents and British prime ministers. The few surveys that have been conducted have been quite unscientific, with respondents chosen at random and no efforts made to measure personal biases. Strangio notes that "the dominant methodology for studying the nation's leaders has been individual-centered biographies [...] the relatively small number of collective anthologies have treated each prime minister discretely rather than undertaking comparative analysis of their leadership performance, let alone contemplating qualities of greatness in the office".


text: In 1992, "The Canberra Times" asked "almost 300 political scientists and historians at every Australian university" to nominate the five greatest prime ministers in Australian history; 143 responded. Five points were awarded to the prime minister each respondent judged to be the greatest, and so on down to one point for the fifth-greatest prime minister; some respondents awarded half points. Ben Chifley received the most overall points in the survey (and was judged to be the overall winner), although Alfred Deakin was nominated as the greatest prime minister by the most respondents. The four shortest-serving prime ministers were excluded from consideration, as well as the serving prime minister, Paul Keating. The total number of points was not published for prime ministers ranked outside the ten (except for those who received no points), only the order.


text: In 2001, to commemorate the centenary of federation, "The Australian Financial Review" asked six historians to answer the question "who were the best five and who were the worst five prime ministers since 1901?". Five points were awarded to each historian's choice as the best and worst prime minister, and so on down to one point for the fifth-best and fifth-worst prime ministers. Alfred Deakin was a unanimous choice as Australia's best prime minister, winning full votes from each selector; Robert Menzies also appeared on every "best" list. No one prime minister appeared on all six "worst" lists, although William McMahon appeared on five and James Scullin on four. Several prime ministers appeared on both "best" and "worst" lists, sometimes from the same selector. Stuart Macintyre considered Menzies to be Australia's second-best prime minister for his 1949–66 term, but also the fifth-worst, for his 1939–41 term. Likewise, Humphrey McQueen considered Gough Whitlam to be both the fifth-best and the fourth-worst, describing him as a "curate's egg". Macintyre was the only respondent to award half-points, ranking Whitlam and Paul Keating as the equal fifth-best prime ministers. The three caretaker prime ministers were excluded from consideration, as well as the serving prime minister, John Howard.


text: The participants in the survey were Geoffrey Bolton (ECU), Graeme Davison (Monash), Ian Hancock (ANU), Stuart Macintyre (Melbourne), Humphrey McQueen (freelance), and Clem Lloyd (Wollongong). Geoffrey Blainey was invited to participate, but declined.


text: In 2004, "The Age" asked fifteen historians and political commentators to rank Australia's eleven prime ministers from John Curtin onwards (i.e., since 1941). Eleven points were awarded to the prime minister each respondent judged to be the greatest, and so on down to one point for the worst prime minister; some respondents awarded half points. John Curtin received the most overall points in the survey, as well as being named the greatest prime minister by the most respondents (exactly one-third of the total). William McMahon received the lowest possible ranking from all but one respondent. The two caretaker prime ministers during that time were excluded from consideration, but the serving prime minister, John Howard, was included.


text: The participants in the survey were Judith Brett (La Trobe), Greg Craven (Curtin), David Day (La Trobe), Michael Duffy (freelance), Brian Galligan (Melbourne), Ian Hancock (ANU), John Hirst (La Trobe), Carol Johnson (Adelaide), Stuart Macintyre (Melbourne), Alistair Mant (freelance), Andrew Parkin (Flinders), Tom Stannage (Curtin), Paul Strangio (Monash), James Walter (Monash), and Patrick Weller (Griffith). Geoffrey Blainey, Marian Simms, and several others were invited to participate, but declined.


text: In 2010, a team of researchers from Monash University asked "145 academics that were teaching or researching in the fields of Australian politics or history" to place Australia's prime ministers in five categories; 40 responded. Five points were awarded to prime ministers judged "outstanding", four for those considered "good", three for "average", two for "below average", and one for "failure". The three caretaker prime ministers —Earle Page, Frank Forde, and John McEwen— were excluded from consideration, as was the then–serving prime minister, Julia Gillard. John Curtin received the highest average rating, 4.78, and he was the only prime minister to whom no respondents gave a rating lower than "good".


text: In 2020, researchers from Monash University replicated the 2010 survey, and asked 121 "scholars working in the fields of Australian politics/history" to place Australia's prime ministers in five categories; 66 participated. As with the previous survey, five points were awarded to prime ministers judged "outstanding", four for those considered "good", three for "average", two for "below average", and one for "failure". New additions to the survey included Julia Gillard, the second tenure of Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott, and Malcolm Turnbull. The three caretaker prime ministers were excluded from consideration, as was the then–serving prime minister, Scott Morrison. Arthur Fadden, who served as prime minister for four months and was present in the 2010 survey, was omitted from this survey. Of the 22 prime ministers ranked on both surveys, only four improved their standings (Keating, Watson, Reid, and Scullin) from 2010.


text: It is possible to compare the highest approval ratings achieved by prime ministers in various opinion polls.


text: According to the Nielsen Poll (available since 1972), Bob Hawke had the highest approval rating in November 1984, with 75%, and the lowest was William McMahon, with a 34% approval rating.


text: William McMahon ended 1971 with an approval rating of 36.4%. By the end of 1972, his popularity had sunk to 34%, and he was defeated by Gough Whitlam in the 1972 election.


text: According to Newspoll (available since 1985), the highest satisfaction rating of any prime minister was Kevin Rudd's at 71% in August 2008, while Paul Keating has had the lowest high-mark satisfaction rating at 43%.


text: Voters are asked the question: 'Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way -name- is doing his/her job as Prime Minister?'


text: Since Newspoll began in 1985, the lowest satisfaction rating of any prime minister is by far Paul Keating's at 17% in August 1993, with a 6% difference between Keating and the nearest low rating of Julia Gillard at 23% in September 2011.


text: John Scales, of JWS research, in May 2011 polled 2141 people in the 10 most marginal Labor seats and the 10 most marginal Coalition seats.


text: Asked "which, of the past five, had been the best government for Australia ?", responses were as follows:


text: In all, 50 per cent of all respondents nominated a Liberal Party government, with 42 per cent nominating the Labor Party. At the time of the survey, the federal government was led by the Labor Party.


title: Metal (API)

text: Metal is a low-level, low-overhead hardware-accelerated 3D graphic and compute shader API created by Apple. It debuted in iOS 8. Metal combines functions similar to OpenGL and OpenCL in one API. It is intended to improve performance by offering low-level access to the GPU hardware for apps on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and tvOS. It can be compared to low-level APIs on other platforms such as Vulkan and DirectX 12.


title: Metal (API)

text: Metal is an object-oriented API that can be invoked using the Swift, Objective-C or C++17 programming languages. Full-blown GPU execution is controlled via the Metal Shading Language. According to Apple promotional materials: "MSL "[Metal Shading Language]" is a single, unified language that allows tighter integration between the graphics and compute programs. Since MSL is C++-based, you will find it familiar and easy to use."


title: Metal (API)

text: Metal aims to provide low-overhead access to the GPU. Commands are encoded beforehand and then submitted to the GPU for asynchronous execution. The application controls when to wait for the execution to complete thus allowing application developers to increase throughput by encoding other commands while commands are executed on the GPU or save power by explicitly waiting for GPU execution to complete. Additionally, command encoding is CPU independent thus applications can encode commands to each CPU thread independently. Lastly, render states are pre-computed beforehand, allowing the GPU driver to know in advance how to configure and optimize the render pipeline before command execution.


title: Metal (API)

text: Metal improves the capabilities of GPGPU programming by using compute shaders. Metal uses a specific shading language based on C++14, implemented using Clang and LLVM.


title: Metal (API)

text: Metal offers application developers the flexibility where to create Metal resources (buffers, textures). Resources can be allocated on the CPU, GPU, or both and provides facilities to update and synchronize allocated resources. Metal can also enforce a resource's state during a command encoder's lifetime.


title: Metal (API)

text: On macOS, Metal can provide application developers the discretion to specify which GPU to execute. Application developers can choose between the low-power integrated GPU of the CPU, the discrete GPU (on certain MacBooks and Macs) or an external GPU connected through Thunderbolt. Application developers also have the preference on how GPU commands are executed on which GPUs and provides suggestion on which GPU a certain command is most efficient to execute (commands to render a scene can be executed by the discrete GPU while post-processing and display can be handled by the integrated GPU).


title: Metal (API)

text: Metal Performance Shaders is a highly optimized library of graphics functions that can help application developers achieve great performance at the same time decrease work on maintaining GPU family specific functions. It provides functions including:


title: Metal (API)

text: Metal has been available since June 2, 2014 on iOS devices powered by Apple A7 or later, and since June 8, 2015 on Macs (2012 models or later) running OS X El Capitan.


title: Metal (API)

text: On June 5, 2017 at WWDC, Apple announced the second version of Metal, to be supported by macOS High Sierra, iOS 11 and tvOS 11. Metal 2 is not a separate API from Metal and is supported by the same hardware. Metal 2 enables more efficient profiling and debugging in Xcode, accelerated machine learning, lower CPU workload, support for virtual reality on macOS, and specificities of the Apple A11 GPU, in particular.


title: Metal (API)

text: At the 2020 WWDC, Apple announced the migration of the Mac to Apple silicon. Macs using Apple silicon will feature Apple GPUs with a feature set combining what was previously available on macOS and iOS, and will be able to take advantage of features tailored to the tile based deferred rendering (TBDR) architecture of Apple GPUs.


title: Metal (API)

text: At the 2022 WWDC, Apple announced the third version of Metal (Metal 3), which would debut with the release of macOS Ventura, iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. Metal 3 introduces the MetalFX upscaling framework, which renders complex scenes in less time per frame with high-performance upscaling and anti-aliasing. Also announced possibility to use C/C++ for Metal API.


title: Metal (API)

text: The first version and the second version of Metal API supports the following hardware and software stated as below:


title: Metal (API)

text: According to Apple, more than 148,000 applications use Metal directly, and 1.7 million use it through high-level frameworks, as of June 2017. macOS games using Metal for rendering are listed below.


title: Gears of War 2

text: Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the second installment of the "Gears of War" series, with lead design by Cliff Bleszinski. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia on November 7, 2008, and was released in Japan on July 30, 2009. The game expands technically on the previous game by using a modified Unreal Engine 3. The development team brought in comic book writer Joshua Ortega to help write the plot for the game.


title: Gears of War 2

text: In "Gears of War 2", the COG continues its fight against the Locust, who are attempting to sink all of the cities on the planet Sera. Sergeant Marcus Fenix leads Delta Squad into the depths of the planet to try to stop the Locust during the assault upon Locust territory. The player controls Fenix in the main mission campaign, with the ability to play cooperatively with a second player controlling Fenix's best friend and fellow Squad member Dominic "Dom" Santiago. The game includes several existing and new multiplayer modes including five-on-five battles between human and Locust forces, and a "Horde" mode that challenges up to five players against waves of Locust forces with ever-increasing strength. New weapons and gameplay mechanics such as "chainsaw duels" and the ability to use downed foes as "meatshields" were added to the game.


title: Gears of War 2

text: On its release weekend, "Gears of War 2" sold over two million copies, and within two months of release, had sold four million copies. It was the seventh best selling video game of 2009 and received several accolades. The game received similar praise as its predecessor, with the new gameplay and multiplayer modes seen as outstanding additions. "Gears of War 2", along with its predecessor, is considered one of the best games ever made. It was followed by "Gears of War 3" in 2011.


title: Gears of War 2

text: "Gears of War 2" is a third-person shooter with an emphasis on the tactical use of cover, and retains much of the same gameplay from the first game. The player, playing as either Marcus or Dominic in the campaign mode, or as any of the human or Locust characters in multiplayer mode, can only carry a pistol, one type of grenade, and two other weapons at any time, though they may swap these for weapons found in strategic locations or left by downed foes or fallen allies. Each weapon can be used for normal fire as well as for melee attacks; the game's signature Lancer Assault Rifle can be used to instantly kill foes in melee with its mounted chainsaw bayonet. The game introduces the ability to engage in chainsaw duels should the player attempt to chainsaw an opponent also using the Lancer; the player is presented with a controller button to press rapidly to try to win the duel and avoid death. "Gears of War 2" rebalances the power of the existing weapons while introducing five new ones: a flamethrower, a chain gun, a mortar cannon, a "Gorgon" Pistol, and the Ink Grenade. The chain gun and the mortar are heavy weapons, forcing the player to move at walking speed while carrying it in both hands. The Gorgon Pistol is an SMG-like machine pistol that fires four four-shot bursts per magazine. The Ink Grenade doesn't damage with its detonation, but instead temporarily poisons the area it was thrown, making it very useful for driving enemies out of cover. Grenades can be planted on walls or floors as proximity traps that go off when an enemy nears, but only fragmentation grenades have the ability to kill foes when they go off.


title: Gears of War 2

text: The player's health is represented by a red "Crimson Omen" that fades onto the screen the more damage the player takes; staying out of the line of fire allows the player to recover their health. Depending on the game mode or difficulty, if the player takes too much damage, they enter a downed state where they can crawl around the map to get out of battle and seek help. During this time, a teammate can revive him, an enemy may brutally execute the downed player, or the player may bleed out if too much time has passed. The player can also grab a downed character and use them as a meatshield, allowing the body to absorb damage but forcing the player to use a one-handed pistol. Explosive weapons will simply destroy the character they strike. Like its predecessor, "Gears of War 2" features an optional mature content filter, which, when active, makes blood appear as sparks and removes harsh language from the dialogue. Furthermore, progress towards most of the Xbox achievements for the game can be earned in either campaign or multiplayer modes.


title: Gears of War 2

text: The campaign mode in "Gears of War 2" allows for a single player or two players playing cooperatively as Marcus or Dom. A new "Normal" difficulty was added between the game's "Casual" and "Hardcore" difficulties. There is also an 'Insane' difficulty that is unlocked after the player completes the game at least once. Players in co-op mode can select different difficulties, and a "communal combat system" will adjust the game's artificial intelligence to give both players a fair challenge. The co-op campaign can be played in a drop in/drop out manner, with the second player able to join the first player's game in progress. As well as collecting some COG tags as in the first game, players can search other story-based items such as personal letters and medical records, with discovered items being added to a war journal.


title: Gears of War 2

text: The campaign features a deeper story with new characters, new weapons, and new enemies according to John DiMaggio, the voice actor for Marcus Fenix. New vehicles have been added to the game, such as the Centaur Tank, which lead designer Cliff Bleszinski describes as a "tank with monster truck wheels." Players will also ride a Brumak and Reavers in the game. Cut-scenes use the better facial rendering technology of Epic's Unreal engine, and engage in more dramatic angles for the conversation, as well as using a video screen on Jack (the all-purpose robot used by Delta squad) to talk with their commanders face-to-face.


title: Gears of War 2

text: "Gears of War 2" features an upgraded multiplayer mode that allows up to ten users to simultaneously play in teams of five-on-five. "Gears of War 2" includes most of the multiplayer modes, including Execution, Warzone, Annex and King of the Hill, and adds in three new modes. Guardian is a modified version of Assassination from the original "Gears of War", but allows players to continue fighting after the leader has been killed, but losing the ability to respawn. Wingman splits all ten players into five teams of two, where both members of a team play as the same character. Submission, formerly known as Meat Flag, is a version of capture the flag in which players attempt to "down" an enemy controlled by the game's AI and move its body to their team's base or objective to earn points. The 10 maps shipped with the game originally are Avalanche, Blood Drive, Day One, Hail, Jacinto, Pavilion, River, Ruins, Security and Stasis. A "Halo"-like matchmaking system has been utilized for the online multiplayer. Players can now engage in multiplayer scenarios with any combination of human players and artificial intelligence controlled by the game, with the ability to set the AI's intelligence level. Horde is a new co-op mode for five players, fighting off waves of attacking Locust together, with each wave becoming more difficult. Horde Mode does not feature bot support as in competitive multiplayer, and can be played alone.


title: Gears of War 2

text: Players can pan around a map as the camera focuses on areas of intense fighting, and the Ghost Cam allows a player to roam freely around a map. The ability to take photographs is also featured, which enables the player to take a photo, which can be uploaded to the "Gears of War" website and is rated on the quality of action in the shot.


title: Gears of War 2

text: "Gears of War 2" takes place six months after the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb at the end of the first game. Though most of the underground army of the Locust Horde was destroyed, the explosion also caused much of the liquid Imulsion underground to vaporize, causing a fatal disease called Rustlung to spread among the diminished human population. After months of peace, the cities of Tollen and Montevado suddenly and mysteriously disappear underground, leading the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) to suspect the resurgence of the Locust. Soon after, the once impenetrable Jacinto, one of the last remaining safe havens for humans, begins to show signs that the same fate awaits it. To stop the fall of Jacinto, the COG responds with a large-scale counter-offensive against the Locust. Senior Producer Rod Fergusson says "In order to save Jacinto, [the COG] have no choice but to take the war to the Locust."


title: Gears of War 2

text: Returning characters includes the main protagonists of the series Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago and others from the first game, including Marcus and Dom's fellow Delta Squad COG soldiers, Augustus 'Cole Train' Cole and Damon Baird. Also returning in supporting roles are radio dispatcher Anya Stroud and senior officer Colonel Hoffman. Lead designer Cliff Bleszinski confirmed that the character Carmine would be returning, but did not reveal how or in what capacity as Carmine was killed in the original "Gears of War". It was later revealed that the original Anthony Carmine would not be present in the "Gears of War 2" campaign, but rather his brother, Benjamin, would make an appearance. The game also introduces several new characters. They include Chairman Prescott, the noble, yet near-dictatorial military leader of COG; Tai Kaliso, "a spiritual and meditative warrior from a tradition of honor bound fighters;" and Dizzy Wallin, a former Stranded who joined the COG to keep his family safe. Dom's wife Maria also makes an appearance, and Dom's search for her plays an important part in the story.


title: Gears of War 2

text: As "Gears of War 2" begins, the COG army is mobilizing to send forces into the depths of Sera to assault the Locust directly. The COG deploy several units into the Locust Tunnels, known as 'The Hollow', despite sustaining heavy casualties. Delta Squad, consisting of Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, Benjamin Carmine, and later Augustus Cole and Damon Baird, continues to search the Hollow and discovers that the Locust are using a giant Riftworm to sink the human occupied cities. The Locust plan to destroy the rock structures at the outskirts of Jacinto, the last major Human city, in hopes of sinking it into the ground.


title: Gears of War 2

text: Delta Squad kills the Riftworm before it can sink Jacinto, but lose Carmine in the process. They then manage to return to the surface. They are ordered to investigate a nearby abandoned COG outpost where they encounter experimented creatures of unknown origin and learn of a back door entrance to the Hollow in the nearby Kadar Mountains. They find prisoner cages and Dom convinces Marcus that Maria (Dom's wife) must be inside one of them. They manage to find her, but the Locust imprisonment and torture has left her severely disfigured and traumatized, unable to communicate. Faced with the nigh-vegetative state Maria is in, Dom tearfully chooses to euthanize her. Marcus and Dom then charge into the Locust stronghold.


title: Gears of War 2

text: Inside, Delta Squad discovers the Locust Horde is locked in a civil war against the "Lambent", a group of Locust who have been exposed to Imulsion. They decide to destroy both the Locust and Lambent forces by detonating a bomb under Jacinto, which will sink the city and flood the Locust tunnels. Marcus and Dom battle their way through the Locust tunnels with a hijacked Brumak, while Cole and Baird use a helicopter to transport a bomb into the cavern. Their Brumak goes Lambent after touching Imulsion and destroys the bomb before it can be detonated. Marcus improvises by using a satellite targeting solution to bombard the Brumak with the Hammer of Dawn orbital laser, which causes it to violently explode. Jacinto begins to sink and sea-water floods into the sinkhole, destroying the remaining Locust forces. As the COG forces and civilians evacuate, a voiceover of the Locust Queen talks about unintended legacies. After the credits, a last voice over of Adam Fenix is heard, a radio transmission of a call for help, and a cry of desperation, revealing he is still alive.


title: Gears of War 2

text: "Gears of War" designer Cliff Bleszinski has done several interviews to highlight improvements to the game. Heavy Netcode optimization has been done to negate the host advantage problem in the first title and hundreds of tweaks have gone into improving the cover system and movement. To provide a deeper story, the team brought aboard novelist Joshua Ortega as to incorporate more personal drama within the sci-fi setting. Steve Jablonsky provided the music for the game. Epic Games also considered making the game easier after complaints about "Gears of War". Senior producer Rod Fergusson admitted that — for the first game — "We overshot on <nowiki>[the Casual]</nowiki> difficulty and a game that was a little harder than we intended."


title: Gears of War 2

text: A teaser image posted to the "Gears of War 2" website on July 8, 2008, suggested that the game was to be released on November 9, 2008, but it was confirmed during the Microsoft E3 2008 press conference that the game would be released on November 7, 2008. On July 14, 2008, the teaser image was removed and the website relaunched and updated for "Gears of War 2".


title: Gears of War 2

text: "Gears of War 2" was a focal point during Microsoft's E3 2008 presentation on July 15, 2008, which included a "hands-on" demo. A second trailer, entitled "Rendezvous," was made available on July 14, 2008, as a part of E3. The Joseph Kosinski-directed trailer, which features the Trans Am track "Diabolical Cracker" from the album Red Line, takes its title and spoken words from Alan Seeger's World War I poem "I Have a Rendezvous with Death". The game's release date was also set, with a worldwide release to occur on November 7, 2008. Microsoft and Epic Games announced on October 10, 2008, that "Gears of War 2" had gone gold. It was stated by Cliff Bleszinski that, unlike "Gears of War", the previous installment, "Gears of War 2" will not feature a PC port.


title: Gears of War 2

text: At the 2008 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, as a showcase for the functionality of the Unreal Engine 3, Gears of War creators Epic Games showed various improvements to the engine with specific reference to the sequel itself. The video showed several demonstrations of the improvements, the initial being improvements to the in-game lighting through Screen Space Ambient Occlusion, in which dynamic shadows could be generated through the use of a pixel shading technique to render more realistically lit and shaded objects and actors, illustrated through comparison between character and environment models in the original game engine to that of Unreal Engine 3. Also showcased was the ability of the engine to render hordes of actors within the engine, as demonstrated with a large crowd of locust flocking through the "Gridlock" multiplayer map from the original game. Alongside this technology was improvements to "Matinee," an artistic tool used for the rendering and editing 3-dimensional scenes within the game.


title: Gears of War 2

text: Other physics-related features included improvements to the rendering of water in which specular light and physical interactions with were displayed more realistically, improvements to soft body entities demonstrated with a "Meat Cube" and a floating ball possessing properties similar to that of liquid helium. The largest of these physics engine related changes was the introduction of destructible environments due to the implementation of real-time structural analysis tools to generate the damage of the materials and subsequently their deformed shapes based upon resultant forces placed upon them. This was demonstrated with the use of explosive arrows fired from the "Torque Bow" of the original game causing damage to wooden planks, and also revealing rebar present after destroying areas of a stone structure.


title: Gears of War 2

text: On February 20, 2008, coinciding with the game's announcement at the Game Developers Conference, a free set of gamer pictures and a dashboard theme, as well as a teaser trailer titled "Duel," were made available via the Xbox Live Marketplace. The first footage of gameplay from the campaign, highlighting new features of the game, was released online and to the Marketplace on May 9, 2008. After the Microsoft E3 press conference, the "Rendezvous" trailer and the press conference demonstration was available for download as well as a new free set of gamer pictures and a dashboard theme. Upon release, every new copy of "Gears of War 2" features a code to download the "Flashback Map Pack," which includes five enhanced multiplayer maps from the original game. Customers who attended the GameStop "Midnight Madness" game release event received a code to unlock a gold-plated Hammerburst rifle for use in multiplayer and a code for an exclusive Xbox 360 Dashboard theme optimized for the New Xbox Experience.


title: Gears of War 2

text: The first downloadable content released after "Gears of War 2" was the "Combustible Map Pack," which consists of three new multiplayer maps. This add-on was announced and released on December 15, 2008. The second title update was released on January 21, 2009, featuring several adjustments to gameplay and adding additional Achievements, the patch attempts to correct many of the "glitches" that players have discovered since the game's release.


title: Gears of War 2

text: A third update was applied to "Gears of War 2" on March 24, 2009. The update added an experience-based ranking system in which the player is given a numerical value based on their number of experience points, which are gained by shooting or killing enemies in public multiplayer. The update also addressed several issues with matchmaking, including adding bots in place of players who have quit or lost connection to the game.


title: Gears of War 2

text: In early July 2009, Epic Games applied a fourth update to "Gears of War 2", which added the ability to gain experience from the multiplayer Horde Mode, as well as applying several more gameplay fixes. On July 28, 2009, the "Dark Corners" add-on was released. This add-on consisted of seven new multiplayer maps, and an additional campaign chapter that was originally deleted from the game. The deleted scene takes place after Maria's death, where the user can choose to either sneak into the stronghold as Theron Guards or charge in as in the original game, though the level is different from the one that appeared in the final game and features a cameo from a Stranded character from the original Gears.


title: Gears of War 2

text: On May 6, 2009, Microsoft and Epic Games issued a joint press release announcing the "Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection", to be released on July 28, 2009. The "All Fronts Collection" was to be sold as a retail package, and would have included all add-ons released for "Gears of War 2", a poster, and a strategy guide for the game. In response to complaints that the "All Fronts Collection" had identical pricing to the "Dark Corners" add-on, but significantly more content, as well as the "All Fronts Collection" retail package not being made available in certain regions, Epic Games adjusted the release plan; the "All Fronts Collection" was released digitally via Xbox Live and the "Dark Corners" add-on was reduced in price.


title: Gears of War 2

text: In June 2010 during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 Mark Rein (vice president of Epic Games) was showcasing a tech demo of "Gears of War 2" in stereoscopic 3D running on an Xbox 360 thanks to the TriOviz for Games Technology. "This technology's great because it works on normal HD TVs, as well as the very high end 3DTVs," Rein commented to Computer and Video Games. "We're not planning to re-release this in 3D - unless Microsoft want us to - but I'm sure its technology may be keen to put in the games developed by our partners."


title: Gears of War 2

text: In October 2010 TriOviz for Games Technology has been integrated in Unreal Engine 3, allowing to easily convert in stereoscopic 3D, numerous past and upcoming games developed with this engine.


title: Gears of War 2

text: A Limited Edition of the game was confirmed on February 20, 2008. On July 14, 2008, more information about the Limited Edition's contents was revealed. The edition features alternative cover art, a SteelBook case with a bonus content DVD, a book entitled "Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2", which includes concept art and story-related information, a keepsake photo of Dominic and Maria, and an exclusive Xbox Live code to unlock a gold-plated Lancer for online play. As a bonus item promoted by electronics store Best Buy, customers who preordered the Limited Edition also received a bonus Remote Control Centaur Tank replica, just like the new vehicle introduced in the game, free of charge.


title: Gears of War 2

text: "Gears of War 2" received widespread critical acclaim. It currently holds a 93.32% aggregate review score at GameRankings, and a 93/100 from the aggregate review website Metacritic.


title: Gears of War 2

text: While the game has been praised for the addition of a deeper plot than the original "Gears of War" and being highly polished, reviewers noted that the multiplayer experience did not resemble the previous game especially in its quick pace and enjoyability. IGN noted that while the first four acts of the game were satisfying, in the final act "the last boss is a complete joke and the ending feels just a tad too abrupt," and that there were some bugs and lag in the online multiplayer. Overall, IGN stated that "[Gears of War 2] has its flaws when it comes to the technical side of multiplayer and the last act of the campaign and the voice acting might turn some off. Still, none of that comes close to holding back Gears of War 2 from its destiny: being one of the best games available on the Xbox 360." Also, even though the new plot was praised, critics such as Official Xbox Magazine scrutinized the game's middle acts saying that most of the plot "falls flat."


title: Gears of War 2

text: Both IGN and Eurogamer, among others, positively mentioned the new "Horde Mode" feature, with Eurogamer saying that "Horde is a weighty slab of fun that can turn almost any of them into a time-sink, and the leaderboards are likely to be as compelling a reason to stick with "Gears of War 2" as the leveling system has been for ""." X-Play praised the game for its "polished cover system" and cooperative campaign mode. X-Play also praised the new weapons and characters and its "brilliant" multiplayer experience. "Game Informer" called the single-player campaign "satisfying" and called the co-op campaign amazing and goes on to call online multiplayer "an outstanding contrast to team deathmatch or capture-the-flag scenarios."


title: Gears of War 2

text: "Gears of War 2" has achieved significant success after its release. In its opening weekend, the game sold over two million units, and set a new record for the number of simultaneous players on Xbox Live, with over 1 million people logging on to play the game. The game went on to sell over three million copies worldwide within the first month of its release, and pushed past four million in sales within the first two months. It was the sixth best-selling game of December 2008 in the United States, selling in excess of 745,000 copies. It was also the tenth top-selling game in the United States in 2008, with over 1.3  million copies sold. It received a "Double Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom. As of May 7, 2009, "Gears of War 2" had sold over 5 million units worldwide, bringing the franchise total to 11 million units sold.


title: Gears of War 2

text: "Gears of War 2" won several awards following its presentation at E3 2008. IGN gave it the awards Overall Best Shooting Game and Overall Best Graphics Technology of E3 2008. Game Critics Awards gave the game Best Action Game of E3 2008. "Gears of War 2" also won Best Shooter and Best Xbox 360 Game at the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards.


title: Gears of War 2

text: On April 13, 2010, on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon", Cliff Bleszinski announced "Gears of War 3" and debuted a trailer, titled "Ashes to Ashes." The game is set 18 months after the events of "Gears of War 2." It was originally going to be released on April 8, 2011, but was delayed and was finally released on September 20, 2011.


title: Reed Timmer

text: Reed Timmer (born March 17, 1980) is an American meteorologist and storm chaser. He is known for starring in the Discovery Channel reality television series "Storm Chasers", as well as in the documentary film "Tornado Glory" and in the series "Tornado Chasers". He also worked with Mike Theiss in the reality television series "Storms Rising" on Disney+.


title: Reed Timmer

text: Timmer became interested in the weather at a young age, after experiencing a severe thunderstorm that reportedly dropped golfball-sized hail in his yard. Later on, Timmer participated in the Science Olympiad competition in middle school and high school. After graduating from Forest Hills Central High School in Grand Rapids, MI, in 1998, he began studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma (OU). In October of that year, he filmed his first tornado.


title: Reed Timmer

text: Timmer followed severe weather with his TornadoVideos.net team in their vehicle, the SRV Dominator. He was featured in an interview on a bonus feature for the "Into the Storm" Blu-ray. Timmer also appeared in a 2004 episode of "Nova".


title: Reed Timmer

text: Timmer was a storm chaser for KFOR-TV's 4WARN Storm Team, with his SRV Dominator 2 as 4WARN Dominator 4. Timmer left AccuWeather in October 2019 to become a content creator for weather forecasts and storm chasing, mostly on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.


title: Reed Timmer

text: The first Dominator was a modified 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe that was used during the 2008 storm-chasing season and debuted in the 2009 chase season.


title: Reed Timmer

text: In early 2011, Timmer and other members of TVN purchased a 2011 GMC Yukon XL, which would be the base vehicle for a second Dominator vehicle named Dominator 2.


title: Reed Timmer

text: A third Dominator vehicle debuted in late April 2013. This vehicle, named Dominator 3, began life as a Ford F-350 crew-cab pickup featuring a 16-gauge body strengthened with a polyethylene Kevlar composite, thick Lexan windows and gull-wing doors to repel hail. When storms approach, hydraulic systems lower the vehicle to the ground and drive spikes 8 inches into the ground to prevent wind from getting underneath.


title: Reed Timmer

text: With a heavy presence on Twitter, Reed was often found chasing in his 2018 Subaru Forester, donning the name Dominator Fore. Dominator Fore featured an increasing number of hail stone dents in its factory sheet metal body, and undergoes several windshield replacements each year due to Reed's attraction to sitting under what he refers to as Gorilla Hail storms. In September 2022, Timmer posted on Twitter that he had abandoned Dominator Fore to the storm surge of Hurricane Ian while tracking the storm at Pine Island, Florida. The car was later found battered, and was no longer drivable, although attempts to fix it are ongoing.


title: Reed Timmer

text: While chasing storms in 2009 in Aurora, Nebraska, a tornado strengthened while passing over the Dominator and blew out the driver's window. Its exterior Lexan window failed to roll up. Timmer and Chris Chittick suffered lacerations to the face from the flying glass. The incident was documented as part of the "Storm Chasers" TV series.


title: Reed Timmer

text: The day before the Yazoo City tornado of April 24, 2010, Timmer and colleague Joel Taylor got into a heated argument as to whether or not to make the trip. An EF4 tornado went through the town the next morning, and the team helped rescue people from the rubble. Taylor ended up saying that he was glad he committed to the chase as he saved lives.


title: Reed Timmer

text: Timmer started "Tornado Chasers" on his website TVNWeather.com. The first two seasons debuted in 2012 and 2013.


title: Reed Timmer

text: Season 1 included 12 episodes. Few tornadoes struck that year. In one episode, their SUV's windows were shattered by large hail.


title: Reed Timmer

text: Season 2 had far more tornadoes and footage than season 1. The most notable tornado was the May 31, 2013 El Reno tornado, which killed Tim Samaras. The season showed Timmer enrolling in the KFOR 4WARN Storm Chasing team. Joel Taylor returned for episodes 1 and 2. Jim Cantore and Ginger Zee also appeared.


title: Reed Timmer

text: In December 2015, he married meteorologist Maria Molina at the Masaya Volcano National Park in Nicaragua. They divorced in 2018


title: Reed Timmer

text: On October 4, 2013, Timmer suffered a seizure while storm chasing in Nebraska as part of the KFOR-TV weather team and was rushed to a hospital by his team. According to Reed, it was his second seizure. Timmer was not driving.


title: RC4

text: In cryptography, RC4 (Rivest Cipher 4, also known as ARC4 or ARCFOUR, meaning Alleged RC4, see below) is a stream cipher. While it is remarkable for its simplicity and speed in software, multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in RC4, rendering it insecure. It is especially vulnerable when the beginning of the output keystream is not discarded, or when nonrandom or related keys are used. Particularly problematic uses of RC4 have led to very insecure protocols such as WEP.


title: RC4

text: , there is speculation that some state cryptologic agencies may possess the capability to break RC4 when used in the TLS protocol. IETF has published RFC 7465 to prohibit the use of RC4 in TLS; Mozilla and Microsoft have issued similar recommendations.


title: RC4

text: RC4 was designed by Ron Rivest of RSA Security in 1987. While it is officially termed "Rivest Cipher 4", the RC acronym is alternatively understood to stand for "Ron's Code" (see also RC2, RC5 and RC6).


title: RC4

text: RC4 was initially a trade secret, but in September 1994, a description of it was anonymously posted to the Cypherpunks mailing list. It was soon posted on the sci.crypt newsgroup, where it was broken within days by Bob Jenkins. From there, it spread to many sites on the Internet. The leaked code was confirmed to be genuine, as its output was found to match that of proprietary software using licensed RC4. Because the algorithm is known, it is no longer a trade secret. The name "RC4" is trademarked, so RC4 is often referred to as "ARCFOUR" or "ARC4" (meaning "alleged RC4") to avoid trademark problems. RSA Security has never officially released the algorithm; Rivest has, however, linked to the English Wikipedia article on RC4 in his own course notes in 2008 and confirmed the history of RC4 and its code in a 2014 paper by him.


title: RC4

text: RC4 became part of some commonly used encryption protocols and standards, such as WEP in 1997 and WPA in 2003/2004 for wireless cards; and SSL in 1995 and its successor TLS in 1999, until it was prohibited for all versions of TLS by RFC 7465 in 2015, due to the RC4 attacks weakening or breaking RC4 used in SSL/TLS. The main factors in RC4's success over such a wide range of applications have been its speed and simplicity: efficient implementations in both software and hardware were very easy to develop.


title: RC4

text: RC4 generates a pseudorandom stream of bits (a keystream). As with any stream cipher, these can be used for encryption by combining it with the plaintext using bitwise exclusive or; decryption is performed the same way (since exclusive or with given data is an involution). This is similar to the one-time pad, except that generated "pseudorandom bits", rather than a prepared stream, are used.


title: RC4

text: To generate the keystream, the cipher makes use of a secret internal state which consists of two parts:


title: RC4

text: The permutation is initialized with a variable-length key, typically between 40 and 2048 bits, using the "key-scheduling" algorithm (KSA). Once this has been completed, the stream of bits is generated using the "pseudo-random generation algorithm" (PRGA).


title: RC4

text: The key-scheduling algorithm is used to initialize the permutation in the array "S". "keylength" is defined as the number of bytes in the key and can be in the range 1 ≤ keylength ≤ 256, typically between 5 and 16, corresponding to a key length of 40–128 bits. First, the array "S" is initialized to the identity permutation. S is then processed for 256 iterations in a similar way to the main PRGA, but also mixes in bytes of the key at the same time.


title: RC4

text: For as many iterations as are needed, the PRGA modifies the state and outputs a byte of the keystream. In each iteration, the PRGA:


title: RC4

text: Several operating systems include , an API originating in OpenBSD providing access to a random number generator originally based on RC4. In OpenBSD 5.5, released in May 2014, was modified to use ChaCha20. The implementations of arc4random in FreeBSD, NetBSD and Linux's libbsd also use ChaCha20. According to manual pages shipped with the operating system, in the 2017 release of macOS and iOS operating systems, Apple replaced RC4 with AES in its implementation of arc4random. Man pages for the new arc4random include the backronym "A Replacement Call for Random" for ARC4 as a mnemonic, as it provides better random data than rand() does.


title: RC4

text: Many stream ciphers are based on linear-feedback shift registers (LFSRs), which, while efficient in hardware, are less so in software. The design of RC4 avoids the use of LFSRs and is ideal for software implementation, as it requires only byte manipulations. It uses 256 bytes of memory for the state array, S[0] through S[255], k bytes of memory for the key, key[0] through key[k−1], and integer variables, i, j, and K. Performing a modular reduction of some value modulo 256 can be done with a bitwise AND with 255 (which is equivalent to taking the low-order byte of the value in question).


title: RC4

text: These test vectors are not official, but convenient for anyone testing their own RC4 program. The keys and plaintext are ASCII, the keystream and ciphertext are in hexadecimal.


title: RC4

text: Unlike a modern stream cipher (such as those in eSTREAM), RC4 does not take a separate nonce alongside the key. This means that if a single long-term key is to be used to securely encrypt multiple streams, the protocol must specify how to combine the nonce and the long-term key to generate the stream key for RC4. One approach to addressing this is to generate a "fresh" RC4 key by hashing a long-term key with a nonce. However, many applications that use RC4 simply concatenate key and nonce; RC4's weak key schedule then gives rise to related-key attacks, like the Fluhrer, Mantin and Shamir attack (which is famous for breaking the WEP standard).


title: RC4

text: Because RC4 is a stream cipher, it is more malleable than common block ciphers. If not used together with a strong message authentication code (MAC), then encryption is vulnerable to a bit-flipping attack. The cipher is also vulnerable to a stream cipher attack if not implemented correctly.


title: RC4

text: It is noteworthy, however, that RC4, being a stream cipher, was for a period of time the only common cipher that was immune to the 2011 BEAST attack on TLS 1.0. The attack exploits a known weakness in the way cipher-block chaining mode is used with all of the other ciphers supported by TLS 1.0, which are all block ciphers.


title: RC4

text: In March 2013, there were new attack scenarios proposed by Isobe, Ohigashi, Watanabe and Morii, as well as AlFardan, Bernstein, Paterson, Poettering and Schuldt that use new statistical biases in RC4 key table to recover plaintext with large number of TLS encryptions.


title: RC4

text: In 1995, Andrew Roos experimentally observed that the first byte of the keystream is correlated with the first three bytes of the key, and the first few bytes of the permutation after the KSA are correlated with some linear combination of the key bytes. These biases remained unexplained until 2007, when Goutam Paul, Siddheshwar Rathi and Subhamoy Maitra proved the keystream–key correlation and, in another work, Goutam Paul and Subhamoy Maitra proved the permutation–key correlations. The latter work also used the permutation–key correlations to design the first algorithm for complete key reconstruction from the final permutation after the KSA, without any assumption on the key or initialization vector. This algorithm has a constant probability of success in a time, which is the square root of the exhaustive key search complexity. Subsequently, many other works have been performed on key reconstruction from RC4 internal states. Subhamoy Maitra and Goutam Paul also showed that the Roos-type biases still persist even when one considers nested permutation indices, like or . These types of biases are used in some of the later key reconstruction methods for increasing the success probability.


title: RC4

text: The keystream generated by the RC4 is biased to varying degrees towards certain sequences, making it vulnerable to distinguishing attacks. The best such attack is due to Itsik Mantin and Adi Shamir, who showed that the second output byte of the cipher was biased toward zero with probability 1/128 (instead of 1/256). This is due to the fact that if the third byte of the original state is zero, and the second byte is not equal to 2, then the second output byte is always zero. Such bias can be detected by observing only 256 bytes.


title: RC4

text: Souradyuti Paul and Bart Preneel of COSIC showed that the first and the second bytes of the RC4 were also biased. The number of required samples to detect this bias is 2 bytes.


title: RC4

text: Scott Fluhrer and David McGrew also showed attacks that distinguished the keystream of the RC4 from a random stream given a gigabyte of output.


title: RC4

text: The complete characterization of a single step of RC4 PRGA was performed by Riddhipratim Basu, Shirshendu Ganguly, Subhamoy Maitra, and Goutam Paul. Considering all the permutations, they proved that the distribution of the output is not uniform given i and j, and as a consequence, information about j is always leaked into the output.


title: RC4

text: In 2001, a new and surprising discovery was made by Fluhrer, Mantin and Shamir: over all the possible RC4 keys, the statistics for the first few bytes of output keystream are strongly non-random, leaking information about the key. If the nonce and long-term key are simply concatenated to generate the RC4 key, this long-term key can be discovered by analysing a large number of messages encrypted with this key. This and related effects were then used to break the WEP ("wired equivalent privacy") encryption used with 802.11 wireless networks. This caused a scramble for a standards-based replacement for WEP in the 802.11 market and led to the IEEE 802.11i effort and WPA.


title: RC4

text: Protocols can defend against this attack by discarding the initial portion of the keystream. Such a modified algorithm is traditionally called "RC4-drop[]", where is the number of initial keystream bytes that are dropped. The SCAN default is = 768 bytes, but a conservative value would be = 3072 bytes.


title: RC4

text: The Fluhrer, Mantin and Shamir attack does not apply to RC4-based SSL, since SSL generates the encryption keys it uses for RC4 by hashing, meaning that different SSL sessions have unrelated keys.


title: RC4

text: In 2005, Andreas Klein presented an analysis of the RC4 stream cipher, showing more correlations between the RC4 keystream and the key. Erik Tews, Ralf-Philipp Weinmann, and Andrei Pychkine used this analysis to create aircrack-ptw, a tool that cracks 104-bit RC4 used in 128-bit WEP in under a minute. Whereas the Fluhrer, Mantin, and Shamir attack used around 10 million messages, aircrack-ptw can break 104-bit keys in 40,000 frames with 50% probability, or in 85,000 frames with 95% probability.


title: RC4

text: A combinatorial problem related to the number of inputs and outputs of the RC4 cipher was first posed by Itsik Mantin and Adi Shamir in 2001, whereby, of the total 256 elements in the typical state of RC4, if "x" number of elements ("x" ≤ 256) are "only" known (all other elements can be assumed empty), then the maximum number of elements that can be produced deterministically is also in the next 256 rounds. This conjecture was put to rest in 2004 with a formal proof given by Souradyuti Paul and Bart Preneel.


title: RC4

text: In 2013, a group of security researchers at the Information Security Group at Royal Holloway, University of London reported an attack that can become effective using only 2 encrypted messages. While yet not a practical attack for most purposes, this result is sufficiently close to one that it has led to speculation that it is plausible that some state cryptologic agencies may already have better attacks that render RC4 insecure. Given that, , a large amount of TLS traffic uses RC4 to avoid attacks on block ciphers that use cipher block chaining, if these hypothetical better attacks exist, then this would make the TLS-with-RC4 combination insecure against such attackers in a large number of practical scenarios.


title: RC4

text: In March 2015, researcher to Royal Holloway announced improvements to their attack, providing a 2 attack against passwords encrypted with RC4, as used in TLS.


title: RC4

text: At the Black Hat Asia 2015 Conference, Itsik Mantin presented another attack against SSL using RC4 cipher.


title: RC4

text: In 2015, security researchers from KU Leuven presented new attacks against RC4 in both TLS and WPA-TKIP. Dubbed the Numerous Occurrence MOnitoring & Recovery Exploit (NOMORE) attack, it is the first attack of its kind that was demonstrated in practice. Their attack against TLS can decrypt a secure HTTP cookie within 75 hours. The attack against WPA-TKIP can be completed within an hour and allows an attacker to decrypt and inject arbitrary packets.


title: RC4

text: As mentioned above, the most important weakness of RC4 comes from the insufficient key schedule; the first bytes of output reveal information about the key. This can be corrected by simply discarding some initial portion of the output stream. This is known as RC4-drop"N", where "N" is typically a multiple of 256, such as 768 or 1024.


title: RC4

text: RC4A uses two state arrays and , and two indexes and . Each time is incremented, two bytes are generated:


title: RC4

text: Although the algorithm required the same number of operations per output byte, there is greater parallelism than RC4, providing a possible speed improvement.


title: RC4

text: Although stronger than RC4, this algorithm has also been attacked, with Alexander Maximov and a team from NEC developing ways to distinguish its output from a truly random sequence.


title: RC4

text: Variably Modified Permutation Composition (VMPC) is another RC4 variant. It uses similar key schedule as RC4, with


title: RC4

text: RC4 is a modified version of RC4 with a more complex three-phase key schedule (taking about three times as long as RC4, or the same as RC4-drop512), and a more complex output function which performs four additional lookups in the S array for each byte output, taking approximately 1.7 times as long as basic RC4.


title: RC4

text: In 2014, Ronald Rivest gave a talk and co-wrote a paper on an updated redesign called Spritz. A hardware accelerator of Spritz was published in Secrypt, 2016 and shows that due to multiple nested calls required to produce output bytes, Spritz performs rather slowly compared to other hash functions such as SHA-3 and the best known hardware implementation of RC4.


title: RC4

text: The value , is relatively prime to the size of the S array. So after 256 iterations of this inner loop, the value (incremented by every iteration) has taken on all possible values 0...255, and every byte in the S array has been swapped at least once.


title: RC4

text: Like other sponge functions, Spritz can be used to build a cryptographic hash function, a deterministic random bit generator (DRBG), an encryption algorithm that supports authenticated encryption with associated data (AEAD), etc.


title: RC4

text: Where a protocol is marked with "(optionally)", RC4 is one of multiple ciphers the system can be configured to use.


title: Yuba City, California

text: Yuba City (Maidu: "Yubu") is a city in Northern California and the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 70,117 at the 2020 census. Yuba City is the principal city of the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Sutter County and Yuba County. The metro area's population is 164,138. It is the 21st largest metropolitan area in California, ranked behind Redding and Chico. Its metropolitan statistical area is part of the Greater Sacramento CSA.


title: Yuba City, California

text: The Maidu people were settled in the region when they were first encountered by Spanish and Mexican scouting expeditions in the early 18th century. One version of the origin of the name "Yuba" is that during one of these expeditions, wild grapes were seen growing by a river, and so it was named "Uba", a variant spelling of the Spanish word "uva" (grape).


title: Yuba City, California

text: The Mexican government granted a large expanse of land, which included the area in which Yuba City is situated, to John Sutter—the same John Sutter upon whose land gold was subsequently discovered in 1848. He sold part of this tract to some enterprising men who wished to establish a town near the confluence of the Yuba River and the Feather River, tributaries of the Sacramento River, with an eye to developing a commercial center catering to the thousands of gold miners headed upstream to the gold fields. At the same time, another town was developing on the eastern bank of the Feather River, the beginnings of what later would become Marysville.


title: Yuba City, California

text: By 1852, Yuba City was a steamboat landing, had one hotel, a grocery store, a post office, and approximately 20 dwelling homes with a population of about 150.