Jan 25, 2015 | Security
When people think of hacking, they think computers and thanks to the Sony scandal, movie houses. But a hack attack can strike at a place we often take for granted: our gas station.
I’m talking about gas tank venerability. According to the cyber security analysis at Rapid 7, there are automated tank gauges at over 5,000 gas stations across the US that are venerable to hack attacks. That’s only three percent of all gas stations across the country. ?Nevertheless, that’s more than enough for hackers to completely shut down these gas stations, causing ripple effects across the nation. Not only that, Rapid 7 discovered there are over 5,300 ATG (automated tank gauges) exposed on the Internet with no password protection. With little or no protection, hackers can falsify fuel levels, lie about tanks being full, start false alarms and completely shut stations down. This lack of protection can lead to malfunctions as well. One large ATG manufacturer/vendor that has addressed this problem is Veeder-Root. They are currently working to strengthen security in it’s products. “Security, accuracy and reliability are top priorities at Veeder-Root.We have taken immediate and decisive steps to inform each of our customers about activating the security features already available in their tank gauges,” said Veeder-Root president Andrew Hider through email. States that have the most venerable ATGs and gas station are New York, Florida, Texas, Virginia and Illinois.
Some may say, “It’s only a small percentage of gas stations? What’s the big deal?” One big deal is the biggest venerability is in the most populous states in the country. Let’s say hackers infect the ATGs and cause a few gas stations to shut down. Because of those shut downs, drivers have to go to the nearest one, which already has long lines. Before it’s your turn, that station is out of fuel supply. Now people can’t get to work, school, or go about their daily lives. Anger leads to panic and panic leads to mayhem. Do you see how a small problem really can turn into a big deal?
Jan 23, 2015 | Computer technology, Wireless
One of the most anticipated technological advances of 2015 is the iWatch. With the years of planning and promotion, they shouldn’t leave out a very important detail.
That detail is the Apple Watch battery life. It’s been rumored that the battery will have to be charged nightly, and probably more often than that. The goal in 2014 was to have around 3 hours of active use, 19 hours of passive use and 3 days of standby time, meaning when the watch is on but not being used at all. They’re doing test to break it down even further. They’re targeting 2.5 hours for heavier use like gaming and 3.5 hours of casual use. When it comes to fitness tracking, the iWatch goal is to go 4 hours in a single charge. Many say battery life is such a major part of the Apple Watch experience that it’s the main reason the release date was pushed from sometime in 2014 to one day in 2015.
I’m glad Apple is taking battery life seriously. I don’t care how cutting edge, new, or revolutionary the device is. I don’t care how much you can do with it, if you have to charge it every second, why bother? Here you have this amazing Apple watch or other device. But when most of your focus is “Where am I going to charge this? I better save the battery juice as long as I can.”, it gets annoying. It can even be costly. I predict the smartwatch will be used not only for personal use, but probably for business as well. And to run out of battery at the wrong time can open a Pandora’s Box to all sorts of problems. I think Apple should make their smartwatch battery life lasts as long as they possibly can. If it means delaying your opening date, I’m sure it’s a delay that’s well worth it. How long do you think the iWatch battery life should be?
Jan 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
Anyone who has been hacked before can often trace it to password issues. In many cases, hackers broke pass easy passwords, then got in someone’s account doing whatever they wished to do. Want to stop them?
The first step we can take is avoiding the worst passwords ever! A password security firm called Splash Data has come up with the worst passwords used in 2014, the most likely to get hacked. Many have been on the worst list for years. The worst password of 2014 was ‘123456’. That should come as no surprise because ‘123456’ was the worst password of 2013 too. Rounding out the worst five are ‘password’, ‘12345’, ‘12345678’, and ‘qwerty’. While it’s advised you mix numbers and letters, don’t choose ‘abc123’. That made the worst 25 (#14). Other bad password choices include generic sports like ‘football’ (#10) and ‘baseball’ (#8). Don’t use common names, especially names like Michael (#20). Superheroes won’t come to your bad password rescue either, because ‘Batman (#24) and ‘Superman’ (#21) made this dubious list. When it comes to protecting yourself from hackers, and from other online monsters, it’s a good idea to trust no one. Funny thing, because the password ‘trustno1’ was ranked 25th worst password to use.
When I look at this list, I ask myself, “People are still using some of these passwords?” This is especially true for the top 5. If I were a hacker (don’t worry, I’m not), easy numeric codes are the first thing I would try, following generic sports, common names, and pop culture themes. There are ways to make it harder for them. Instead of just naming a sport, name your favorite sports team followed by a year they did something significant. Don’t just use a common name; use the name plus a milestone date, like first day of school, an award won, first drivers licence or car, high school or college graduation, or wedding or birth of a child. One thing that’s helped me strengthen passwords is using book passages, and mixing numbers and letters like that. What are some of your password tips?
Jan 21, 2015 | networking, News
Did you watch President Barak Obama’s State of the Union address last night? Did you watch it on television, or on You Tube, or on Yahoo, or on…?
You had so many choices because last night’s State of the Union went social. Social media outlets from Facebook to Twitter has been used to promote and/or report on the annual speech to target teens, Millennials, and anyone else who consider themselves Internet savvy. And that’s not all. Traditionally, a news embargo (a gentlemen’s agreement between media and sources) was enforced to not reveal the State of the Union until after the address had been delivered. And yes, they do send the press a copy of the President’s speech trusting it won’t leak to the public. This year was different. A copy of the speech was sent to blog platform and alternative journalism website Medium.com?to make the speech public even before delivery. White House Adviser Dan Pheiffer called this preview ‘SOTU spoilers’. The Obama administration has used Twitter to preview technological issues such as cyber security and the broadband Internet debate.
President Obama knows support among 18-35 year olds is slipping. This is a great way to win them back.??And like President Obama himself said, “I’m done campaigning…I won both mine.” So now it’s less about winning elections, or helping win people elections. It’s about leaving a lasting legacy for future generations. And using tools and strategies like this could set the stage for the next president and the one after that to keep the younger generation involved. But my question is why did the administration use Medium to break the age old news embargo? Why not CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News, MSNBC, or CNN? I think it’s because more people are blogging and reading turning to alternative media than ever before, and they know it. So this is the kind of media they’re reaching out to. So what does this say about the state of mainstream media today?
Jan 21, 2015 | Computer technology, Software, Uncategorized
Welcome to the live blog of the Window’s 10 Event. This is my first live blog so hopefully I will not lose you in all this excitement.
12:02PM
Opening up with Windows 10. They are going over what is to come on this Windows 10 showcase. They say it will be a seamless transition from Windows 7 and 8 and the best enterprise os ever. Windows 10 to be place on tablets, phablets and phones. One platform and one store is what Microsoft is pushing.
12:06PM
They are now showing a video about the Windows Insider program. Microsoft thanks all insiders and you can sign up for free.
12:10PM
More personal computing:
Mobility of Experience- The amount of devices that can transition from device to device with ease.
Trust- Protecting your privacy.
Natural interactions- Getting more out of your devices with gestures, looks and pens.
Now they are showing a workplace with multiple people working on the same item. Now they are talking about how they are bring more personal computing to the workplace.
Home set up is showing wearable devices, with projections of images in the living room:
12:16PM
Free upgrade to Windows 10 with devices running windows 8.1 and and Windows Phone 8.1. They will also down the line upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 as well. All within the first year of Windows 10.
12:18PM
Windows 10 will change the rules of the game of computing. They are bringing up leaders of Microsoft to show off Windows 10 for PC, tablets, ect. Joe Belfiore is now up to show off Windows 10.
They are now demoing Windows 10 on the PC. The start menus has a new visual interface and start it up full screen or you can let it be in small mode that makes it look more like Windows 7. Now when panning in from the right you can now check notifications and quick links.
The setting experience will be easy and control panel and settings will be all in one. Now on his Surface he removes the screen from the mouse and keyboard and now it moves to tablet mode. When snapping back into the keyboard it will be back to PC mode.
Now they are showing Windows 10 on a tablet device. He is showing off his apps at the same time and can go from tablet mode to PC mode on a tablet very naturally.
12:26PM
Joe is demoing new items in Windows 10 and said to expect glitches. The first new feature that they are showing off Cortana and is speaking to her. She is responding to his questions. Cortana is labeled a personal digital assistant. She is now doing impersonations of Yoda. Cortana is now going to be on the PC in Windows 10.
He is now showing an early build of Cortana on an actual PC. He is asking Cortana about being on a PC and she is feeling groovy. Using “hey Cortana” he is asking questions and she is responding seamlessly. As the personal digital assistant she is learning from you. You can go into the notebook to see what Cortana knows about you. You can add new things and remove things from her notebook.
Joe is showing off his homepage experience through Cortana. (currently the feed is buffering will get back to it as soon as it is up.)
12:37PM
Cortana is still being talked about. She will be able to handle many PC tasks.
12:39PM
Windows 10 Phone and tablets are being discussed now. He is showing off the phone and the settings section to make things easier. He is now getting a text message and he is showing off responding to the text message on the wordflow keyboard and moving the keyboard around the screen. Now he is using talk to text. Showing off the speech system which was seamless.
12:43PM
They are now showing off text messaging with the ability to jump right to Skype. That build is not complete yet but coming. They are now showing apps that can work between the phone and PC. First off is MS office. He is now showing Word, Excel, and Powerpoint on the phone and they will come with the phones and small tablets. He is now showing how easy it is to change tabs right on the phone to handle documents. Now he is showing off Powerpoint and showing off the office ribbon again. Now he is showing off an actual Powerpoint presentation on a cell phone. The slide show is running very well. You can also mirrorcast the presentations and wirelessly print as well.
Now they are showing Outlook mail that will be on the phone, tablets, and on the PC. He is showing the app bar on the phone and getting the same Word formatting ribbon to make Outlook easy to use on the phone. Now he is showing off the inbox to show swiping your emails to delete them or flag them. Now he is switching over to the Surface and it has all synced up and works the same exact way. Now he is going to do a two handed demo using the phone and pc.
Showing off the Microsoft calendar on both the Surface and the phone. Very easy to use and seamless just like all apps.
12:54PM
He is now showing off the Photo apps. He is now showing off the album view for both pc and phone and now showing off the map application that is another universal app.
12:59PM
They are showing off one more app experience. He is about to show off a new browser. Code name project Spartan for Windows 10. It is a total new look and feel for sure. They are showing off the browser on the Windows 10 Surface. He is now showing off the Spartan with a pen and marking up a website, and adding notes to the web page on a little sticky type note.
1:06PM
Cortana will be built right into Spartan. Cortana will be able to help you with all things on your pages. So he is on a restaurant site, Cortana is popping up to tell him that she has directions, yelp ratings, booking reservations and check out the menu quickly without having to run through the actual site. He can also ask questions about the menu and she will give information about the dishes.
1:10PM
These items will be available to insiders over the next few months to test. Now they are moving over to the entertainment part with Phil Spencer.
Now we are talking about the gaming aspect and the Xbox can now be a personal experience. Over 50 million members on XBox Live. Now he talking about the idea of Xbox and PC becoming one. Gaming on Windows 10 will now be more social and interactive. The Xbox app is now being shown off. You can access your friends list, messages and the activity feed.
He is now showing off an Alienware PC with Windows 10. The Xbox app is now available with all Windows 10 systems. He can voice and text chat on the PC to friends on Xbox live. Now he is showing off a clip a friend on his list on Windows 10 PC. Now he is able to share and post the comment right on the Xbox app. One thing to note: Phil Spencer is wearing a battletoads shirt.
They are now showing off Steam and how to record the last 30 seconds of game play and share it. This is on Windows 10 and not through an Xbox but people playing on Xbox will be able to see it.
1:18PM
They are now showing a comparison between Direct X 11 and X 12. The new Direct X will now be able to function much better with GPU’s and CPU’s to make games much smoother. Now he is talking about battery life and how laptops can now cut the power usage in half. Now they are discussing the seamless and connected parts of the Windows 10 and Xbox One. They are now playing Fable Legends between an Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. Phil has now jumped into the Xbox One game even though he is playing on his PC while she plays on his PC. This is what people have been wanting for some time now.
Windows 10 will be able to stream Xbox One games on your network. This will be amazing if you can jump from Windows 10 device playing Xbox One through a stream. He has now connected Forza streaming from Xbox One to a Surface Pro 3. He just showed shutting down the Xbox One from the tablet.
They are now showing off a video of Windows 10 experience with the Xbox One.
1:31PM
They are now showing off how groups of people can work together. They are showing the Microsof Surface hub. It is a 84″ display with NFC displays.
They are showing off the whiteboard feature which when she picks up her pen the ink flows right on the screen. She can even move the words around the entire whiteboard.
Now they are opening up a 3D model of the Surface Hub. Now they are showing the 3D model on the side with the white board and move the image to the whiteboard app and write on it. Now they are showing off the meeting features on the hub. This is Skype for business:
1:36PM
Now they are showing how to end the meeting. Just hit the start button and hit end and it will share the meeting with all of the members.
1:38PM
Now Alex Kipman is on stage to show off new technology. They are showing off Windows Holographic. A digital holographic rendering into your living room. It is using a device on your head to interact with everything. The Holographic looks like the Occulus device running with Windows 10. They are showing off all different types ways the Holographic will work. Microsoft Hololens will be wireless.
They are talking about how they invented a new holographic processor. They are now showing a video about the Hololens. The tag line is transform your world with Windows 10.
1:53PM
They are now showing Hololens Holostudio to be able to 3D print items you create. They are showing a screen where you can see what she is seeing. They are showing a functional hologram. They created a 3D model and printed it. The actual print actually worked.
Here is the video they showed off at the conference of the HoloLens.
2:02PM
They are now showing a video with the Hololens using a rover to experience Mars itself. Now they are discussing the future of Windows 10 and how all of what we learned today can revolutionize the world.
2:17PM
They are closing out the Windows 10 going over all of the conferences ending in April with all that we have seen here. The April Conference is a must see conference says Microsoft. They closed with no release date but have said that it will be out later this year.
So that is the conference. What do you think? Are you impressed. I have to say I was and if they pull this off it will be amazing. What I saw today I never expected to see in my time. Some of these things have only been seen in movies but now they are real. The only thing I am disappointed in is that there is no exact date. Thank you for joining me today!
Jan 20, 2015 | Computer technology, Software
Microsoft is set to unveil its brand new Windows OS Windows 10 which they plan to unveil tomorrow at press event at 9AM PT or 11AM eastern in Redmond, WA. This new operating system is set to be universal across all devices.
This is event is going to be huge for Microsoft as 8 and even 8.1 have not been very popular with most people. It is said that 10 will take the best things from 7 and 8 and mesh them together to make an operating system unlike no other. This is a big deal as Windows 8 powers less than 10 percent of all computers in the world and that is according to NetMarketshare and Windows 7 holds over 50 percent of the desktop market.
The other big thing that is supposed to come with this announcement is that this OS will be multi-platform and will be on desktops, laptops, mobile phones and tablets. With the problems people reported with the mobile phone OS of Microsoft mobile phones. Microsoft?s mobile phone share is at only 3 percent verses Google?s Android and Apple?s iOS.
The most interesting part is that they want this to be an operating system that is a one Windows vision which will reinvent productivity. Windows 10 will run on every device with one way to write applications and will have one store to sell them. This could mean some possible big struggles for software developers. Making software that will work on a phone, tablet, and PC is going to be very difficult to do.
So will there be a big uproar about how Microsoft is designing this new operating system? Or will it revolutionize the way we compute? We will find out tomorrow when Microsoft talks about Window 10, Xbox and possibly the new internet browser know as Spartan.
Follow us tomorrow at 12PM eastern as we will be live blogging the event.
Jan 19, 2015 | Computer technology, Entertainment
Newspapers, magazines and books are still running strong on the shelves of newsstands, bookstores and even some convenience stores. Throughout this digital age many companies have been going digital and have put their papers, magazines and books online for you to read without having to leave the house.
Now Magzter is starting make trend with magazines. At the beginning Magzter just sold magazines per issue or annual subscriptions to your favorite magazine. It?s just like having them delivered right to your doorstep like old times only without having to wait for the mail. Well now Magzter is starting a subscription model called Magzter gold.
Magzter gold will be a subscription model like Netflix but instead of movies and TV shows you get magazines. At $9.99 per month you will get access to over 2,000 magazines which include Fast Company, ESPN and even Maxim. Magzter has also brought in a lite version for $4.99 per month that gives you access to five titles but you can access the entire archive of those titles.
Now you may ask yourself this is a good idea why didn’t Magzter start this sooner? Well it comes down to the publishers of the magazines and getting them to want to try this. As Co-Founder and CEO Girish Ramdas stated that they have ?always been toying with the idea? and that it only has come to life due to Magzter getting publishers to get on board.
Now this is not first company to do this however. A company called Next Issue is doing this but with just over 140 titles is $9.99 per month but still need a subscription of $14.99 if you want to read weekly items such as Time and The New Yorker.
So do you believe this trend will work out or do you think it will flounder? I believe that it will work out just fine, if these publishers are still printing paper magazines, newspapers and books, why not do a digital subscription. I would like to know your thoughts on this not so new concept. So please leave your comments below.
Jan 18, 2015 | internet
Yesterday, I talked about Zoosk and other dating services were cutting employees and laying people off. Some online companies don’t have that problem. Instead, they have the exact opposite.
Facebook employment booms, especially in Seattle. There, their roster has increased to 400 workers and shows no end in sight. In 2012, Seattle Facebook’s office had only 90. Things are going so well for them that they’ve had to expand more floors in their Seattle building just to house the incoming talent. In fact, a Seattle area real estate agent let slip they were looking for floors in the Macy building downtown. Seattle’s technological talent pool is credited for Facebook’s employment boom. “Seattle is just a hotbed of awesome talent,” said Facebook Seattle site leader Paul Carduner.
Not only is Facebook employment on the rise, it’s been said that Facebook is one of the best places to work. So while some online dating services are letting people go, and while many shopping conglomerates are letting people go by the thousands, Facebook is hiring people by the hundreds. Keep in mind they just moved some of there headquarters to Seattle from Silicon Valley not even five years ago. So while may businesses of all aspects struggle, Facebook seems to thrive. What’s their secret?
Jan 16, 2015 | internet, networking
Since the dawn of the Internet, many have used it’s dating services to look for love. That’s not going too well…I mean for online dating services like Zoosk.
Zoosk goes down in employment and leadership. Last month, it’s founders announced they opted to become board members instead of CEOs. Now, one of their spokespersons announce they’ve laid off 15% of their work force this past week. A statement said they will cut in other areas in order to sustain cost. Lately, most revenue was brought in by membership fees. But that’s hardly covered their advertising. The market isn’t helping either. They’re delaying their IPO plan well into 2015. But the biggest threat is their competition, particularly Tinder. In the last several months, while Zoosk, Ok Cupid Dating, and others have seen market shares plummet, Tinder’s share has skyrocketed, up to almost 90%. One chart took Zoosk, Match.com, Ok Cupid Dating, Hinge and Tinder. By November 2014, of those five, Tinder had 80-some percent of the market. Zoosk had under five percent among those five.
But I’d like to be personal for a moment. Yes, among these five, Tinder is blowing the competition out of the water. But there has been so many ugly stories about online dating, such as people claiming to be something they’re not. Now I know there has been many success stories of online matches. But I’ve heard some horror stories as well. I’m not that old fashioned, and I think the Internet/21st century technology can be used for doing wonderful things. Meeting your soul mate shouldn’t be one of them. What ever happen to 1st dates, meeting people at socials, or dare I say it because I don’t want to encourage too many people, even the bar scene? Human interaction has linked men and women together for millennium. Don’t you think human interaction will work for our generation too?
Jan 15, 2015 | News, Security
It’s been over a week since the terror attacks in Paris, France that left 17 dead, 14 wounded and a whole nation shocked, scared, confused and exposed. Now, as cyber attacks on France continue, this nation faces more turbulence.
In the past eight days, there has been approximately 19,000 cyber attacks in and on France. Some of them, have been carried out by radical Islamic hacking groups. Thankfully, most have been minor annoyances and have caused no serious damage or destruction. But all aspects of life from the French military to pizzerias have been hit. But it’s the quantity of the attacks that have many security experts and authority figures alarmed. “…19,000 sites, that’s never been seen before,” said Adm. Arnaud?Coustilliere, who is head of the French military’s cyber defense program. According to Arbor Networks, in the past 24 hours alone, there has been almost 1,100 attacks. These attacks have been ‘denial of service’, meaning the website simply doesn’t function. It’s frustrating for the customer and could possibly be crippling for a business, especially one like a pizzeria.
Personally, I think only a minority of these attacks are done by radical Islamist. They want to do far more damage. But when I say this tragedy leaves France exposed because it exposed the racism, Antisemitism , and ethnic tensions that has plagued France for many years. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that many Jewish people in France are leaving and moving to Israel. Is this tension spilling out into the cyber world? I know the media has portrayed togetherness since this attack has happened. But crises can also bring out a lot of ugliness that’s been seeping in the human spirit waiting to spill out. Is it spilling out into the French cyber world? Millions of people are already on edge. Are they taking it out by causing these minor cyber attacks? Or is something more sinister going on here?
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