April

I got very excited this month when a new Linux ditribution was bought to my attention. This distribution is called gOS, based on another well known platform Ubuntu This distro is truly awesome. It comes pre-packed with a whole lot of web features and links with the space bar to launch them for use --- looks a lot like Apple OSX. Using the live dvd, I was able to surf th internet using the built in Firefox browser straight up, gone are the days of starting your ethernet card before you can do anything the same can be said for the hard drives of the host computer, just go to places > computer, and there you will find the host hard drive. Once clicked on (single click for those of you who are still stuck on double clicking)the drive is mounted to the desktop. I know this will offend the Linux purists out there but this is a real alternatinve to MS Windows based operating systems, as the vast number of computer users have been brought up using point and click --- after all who really wants to use command line on a day to day basis. Can anybody remember using DOS --- i can and it was painful --don't get me wrong it has its place and i use it when all else fails --- but seriously a slick GUI is much more user friendly. At lasr a real alternative to MS Windows based operating systems with built in Open Office 2.2, Evolution Mail, Gmail and more, no need to buy or install anything, it even has an update manager that with the press off a button will show you all the updates and allow you to download them –- what could be simpler.

March

Worried about online identity theft? You should be as there is a real threat out there that you could be targeted while doing an online transaction. Drive-by code injections can happen when you vist websites in what is known as "man in the mddle attacks" --- a solution is here with Safe Central. Here is the story from my Security News page --- go there for more info on other scams and solutions as well.

Story excerpt:- "...............On the consumer side, people see credit monitoring services as something they aren't willing to pay for, since they know the credit card company won't hold them responsible for bogus charges. If identity theft was not a concern, that could be a valid point.

It isn't. Identity theft presents a massive problem. Criminals don't need to charge an existing credit card when they have access to an existing identity's name, date of birth, and Social Security number.

Enter the opportunity for SafeCentral, which should formally launch in mid-April. It represents a rethinking of the sell-to-bank business model mentioned early, as O'Donnell noted.

One installs a SafeCentral application on the desktop, which takes a few minutes, and then navigates to the SafeCentral website from the application launcher. A couple of things happen here: SafeCentral creates a locked-down, secure browsing session, which in turn uses a dedicated DNS service to avoid man-in-the-middle attacks.

The secure session launches in a section of available memory that SafeCentral first scans for viruses or malware. When open, the session prevents kernel calls that keyloggers and other malware would useto capture information.

O'Donnell demonstrated this through a virtual session with a keylogger running. He attempted logging into PayPal with a made-up username and password, then showed how the keylogger had duly captured the keystrokes along with screenshots of his activity.

Then with SafeCentral running, he logged into his actual PayPal account and showed me his balance. After logging out, up came the keylogger again. No keystrokes captured, and nothing in the screenshots of his PayPal visit but whitespace.

The SafeCentral browser has been built on enhanced Mozilla code. Authentium stripped out all of the extra stuff. When SafeCentral launches, the browser is unpacked into clean memory each time. This keeps it from being infected by malware that might hit a system while the person is not using SafeCentral.

Inside the service, people may visit one of the 15,000 destinations available, ranging from banks and credit unions to shopping sites like Wal-Mart, eBay, and Amazon.com. All the usual functionality for those sites works through SafeCentral.

As people select their favorite destinations from among SafeCentral's sponsored list, we enter the always entertaining realm of the business model. These sites sponsor their place in SafeCentral with a nominal fee.

A consequence of that allows people to always have free access to the sponsored site through SafeCentral. This has placed Authentium in the position of debating how to monetize SafeCentral for usage beyond its breadth of sponsoring companies already.

They have been debating the possibility of a monthly or annual fee for people to use SafeCentral for any site they wish to access securely, with or without the destination being a SafeCentral sponsor. Even at this late date, the debate continues to rage.

But before considering that, Authentium needs to consider this. Sure they can tout a couple of decades of experience working with major global financial institutions on security issues, but even among security pros, how many people have a working knowledge of them as a brand?

O'Donnell acknowledged this, and cited a need for partnerships to build the brand with the public. That simply has to happen to bring people to SafeCentral. They tout alliances with Microsoft, Google, and Symantec in CEO/president Douglas Brunt's executive profile, but the public needs to see something more.

Authentium may need the imprimatur of a Microsoft or a more well-known security vendor in the consumer space to build its userbase. Some positive buzz among the more highly trafficked blogs could help, which means O'Donnell and company would need to spend a lot more time commenting on sites while blogging from an authoritative position themselves.

Though currently SafeCentral launches as a separate application, they are working on a way to enable its launch from Internet Explorer and Firefox directly. Doing so has to be accomplished while maintaining the integrity of the software, making this a step that could take some time.

The idea behind SafeCentral has been long in coming, and no less necessary now than when Authentium first started talking about the core technology in 2006. Two-factor security via keyfobs is a step up from username/password combos, but still vulnerable to man-in-the-middle exploits.

SafeCentral takes the external factors, the low-level kernel calls and the intermediary threats, out of the online transaction equation. We would like to see it achieve a critical mass of users, as that would put a serious crimp in the identity thieves and other dirtbags who steal financial information."

February

With the recent spate of hard disk drive failures, this story provides meaningful information for those who have critical data on their laptop or desktop computer.

More and more people are entrusting digital images and important data to their computers with out backing up to other media such as second or external hard drive or even DVD.

Laptops continue to populate our IT-landscape in growing numbers. The convenience that laptops afford us, the choice of applications available, and declining price are compelling reasons individuals and organizations are embracing laptops rather than their more sedimentary PC cousins. And, we cannot dismiss the growing trend of the work force whose ranks are moving to the more affordable suburbs thus demanding more time is spent commuting to the office.

A laptop for many is a productivity catalyst if you’re a business professional on the 7 o’clock morning train or a student who takes public transit to school. The availability of WiFi networks enables many of us to connect to virtual private networks and corporate resources remotely. However, if you are not careful with your laptop, the resources available on your laptop—your files—could become inaccessible and you may find yourself data disabled!

While the evolution of laptops provides users greater flexibility and freedom, users cannot be complacent with their handling, operation and care of their laptops. While the whole is often regarded as greater than the sum of its parts, in the case of a laptop, however, the sum of the parts is greater, and in particular the data which resides on the hard drive’s fragile platter is valued the greatest.

Whilst hard drives are relatively inexpensive today, the data that you entrust to your laptop’s hard drive is priceless. Therefore, it is critical that extreme care be taken when your laptop is on. The delicate read/write heads of your laptop could come in contact with the platter thereby physically damaging its surface as well as crippling you and your data.

Follow these practical tips to prevent or reduce the odds of data loss:

1. If your laptop emits strange noises, turn it off.
2. Do not pickup, move or agitate a laptop that is operational. Mobile doesn’t mean you should move it with it running.
3. Keep your computer in a dry, controlled environment free from dust and smoke.
4. Avoid placing beverages near your laptop. Beverages spilt on a laptop’s keyboard can create accessibility problems, not just sticky keys.
5. Use anti-virus software and update it frequently to scan and screen all incoming data.
6. Invest in a sturdy laptop bag that provides support and protection, not just for your laptop, but for your mission critical data.
7. Regularly backup your laptop to an external device and test and verify your backups that you should store in a separate location.

Janurary

Well I have had a great time off and thought it was about time to catch up on some IT jobs of my own that i have put off.

One of these is to finally get around to stream my complete music library (more than 20 gigs worth of mp3's) to my home stereo ---- an archaic unit from the late 80's, but a goody at the time.

To accomplish this task i put to use my trusty bluetooth dongle and a Motorola DC800 stereo gateway, While the Motorola is primarily to be used for streamiming music to a bluetooth headset, i utilised the same unit for my stereo requirements. To stream the music i used as software the venerable BlueSoleil ver 2.1.3 with a VOIP plugin (this will be used later to talk via the Internet with a bluetooth headset/mic and Skpe). After some initial setup glitches with the software side of things, i finally got the music to play on my stereo --- but the sound quality was simply awful. What could be the problem ? Well i initially set it up on a turntable/phono in socket but on thinking about it, switched it to the video in side --- where in the old days you would hook up your VCR (REMEMBER THEM?) to enjoy stereo sound when playing, a sort of surrogate in th e 80's to surround sound

Well this works fine --- music can now be enjoyed in the living area of my house instead of just the room where the computer resides, also no more having to burn discs to play on the stereo. the music is streamed via iTunes through the bluetooth dongle, picked up via the Motorola\DC800 gateway and then played through the stereo

The only downside is the Motorola unit does not have any controls on it or even a remote so that songs can be skipped etc --- oh well you can;t have everything, but all in all a very worthwhile addition to the home media network

Next on to streaming video wirelessly to a home theatre centre --- this is on my wish list

Broadband News There are so many alternatives out there now for mobile boadband it is wise to speak to someone who is up to speed on latest developments and not succumb to pushy sales people who try to sign you up over the telephone.

Here is an excerpt from a recent story from the Ping newsletter i subscribe to: "TELSTRA'S push into the mobile broadband market has been hampered by savage competition from cheaper rivals offering entry-level packages priced up to 80 per cent below those being pushed by the dominant telco player. Over the Christmas period, Hutchison Telecommunications' Three network was selling a fast mobile broadband package priced at just $14.50 a month for 1 gigabyte of data, while Vodafone was selling 5 gigabytes for $39 a month. Both deals included a free USB broadband modem.

In contrast, Telstra's cheapest mobile high-speed broadband deal was priced at $79.95 a month for 1 gigabyte of data, and required customers to buy awireless modem costing an additional $249. Analysts said retail distributors had reported a slowdown in sales of Telstra products in response to the increased price competition.

"Telstra will tell you they've got the best coverage but the reality is that most of the customers are in Sydney and Melbourne, and they don't really care about coverage." read full story.

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