Rickety branchesImage by PexelsYour gleaming corporate headquarters, filled with brand-new computers, may be what's on the front page of the company website, but we all know that in many large organizations, much of the day-to-day work happens in local branch offices, often small, poorly equipped, and understaffed. And of course, many companies and workers are embracing the flexibility offered by the internet to work at home full time. But these satellite worksites can end up causing big headaches for tech pros tasked with keeping company assets secure. We talked to a number of tech pros to find out more about the dangers—and the solutions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
New products of the weekImage by SonusOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.Backblaze Business GroupsImage by BackblazeTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
No device is 100 percent immune from vulnerabilities, but there are some simple, common-sense steps you can take to protect IP-based cameras:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Samsung Electronics on Monday blamed batteries supplied by two manufacturers for the overheating and even explosions of some Galaxy Note7 phones, as it tried to provide a long due explanation for the issues surrounding the smartphone.The announcement by the company, a day ahead of it reporting its fourth quarter results, had experts from TUV Rheinland, Exponent and UL stating that internal manufacturing and design defects of the batteries, including missing insulating tape in some cases, and not the design of the phones were responsible for the battery issues.The negative electrode windings in the battery of an unnamed “manufacturer A,” who first supplied the batteries for the Note7 phones, were found in some cases to be damaged and bent over because the cell pouch did not provide enough volume to accommodate the battery assembly, said Kevin White, Exponent’s principal scientist, at a press conference that was webcast.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Samsung Electronics on Monday blamed batteries supplied by two manufacturers for the overheating and even explosions of some Galaxy Note7 phones, as it tried to provide a long due explanation for the issues surrounding the smartphone.The announcement by the company, a day ahead of it reporting its fourth quarter results, had experts from TUV Rheinland, Exponent and UL stating that internal manufacturing and design defects of the batteries, including missing insulating tape in some cases, and not the design of the phones were responsible for the battery issues.MORE: Our Interactive Samsung Note7 Phenomenal Phablet Flame-Out TimelineTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you don’t live in the US and run an anonymous, Tor-friendly email service – such as one used by 4chan and 8chan – sadly, it’s a pretty decent bet that you would experience some drama when entering the US. At least that was the case for Vincent Canfield as he was detained by US Customs and Border Protection and had all of his electronics seized by the agency. He is originally from the US, but currently resides in Romania.Canfield, the admin of the cock.li e-mail hosting service, came to vacation in the US after attending the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress held in Germany during December. He claims CBP detained him for over three hours, asking “lots of strange” and “some offensive questions” about his personal life. He refused to comply and instead gave them his attorney’s contact information. Agents allegedly demanded that he decrypt his phone so they could “make sure there isn't any bad stuff on there.” Again he refused, so CPB seized the 14 electronic devices that Canfield had with him.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you live outside the U.S. and run an anonymous, Tor-friendly email service—such as one used by 4chan and 8chan—sadly, it’s a pretty decent bet you will experience some drama when entering the U.S. At least that was the case for Vincent Canfield as he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and had all of his electronics seized by the agency. He is originally from the U.S., but he currently resides in Romania.Canfield, the admin of the cock.li e-mail hosting service, came to vacation in the U.S. after attending the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress held in Germany in December. He claims CBP detained him for over three hours, asking “lots of strange” and “some offensive questions” about his personal life. He refused to comply and instead gave them his attorney’s contact information. Agents allegedly demanded he decrypt his phone so they could “make sure there isn't any bad stuff on there.” Again, he refused, so CPB seized the 14 electronic devices Canfield had with him.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The developer behind Lavabit, an email service that noted leaker Edward Snowden used, is releasing source code for an open-source end-to-end encrypted email standard that promises surveillance-proof messaging.
The code for the Dark Internet Mail Environment (DIME) standard will become available on Github, along with an associated mail server program, said its developer Ladar Levison on Friday.
DIME will work across different service providers and perhaps crucially will be "flexible enough to allow users to continue using their email without a Ph.D. in cryptology," said Levison.
To coincide with its launch, Levison is also reviving Lavabit. The encrypted email service shut down in 2013 when federal agents investigating Snowden demanded access to email messages of his 410,000 customers, including their private encryption keys.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A nasty spat between Apple and Qualcomm broke into public view on Friday when the smartphone maker accused the chip supplier of charging "exorbitant" licensing fees for its cellular technology.Apple is asking a Southern California court to order Qualcomm to pay it nearly $1 billion that it says Qualcomm is holding back. Apple says it is owed the money but Qualcomm is holding it back because Apple cooperated with a South Korean government investigation into Qualcomm's licensing practices.The lawsuit alleges that Qualcomm charges high licensing fees to the companies that make iPhones for Apple. Those companies pass the fees on to Apple but aren't allowed to show Apple the specifics of the licensing deals, leaving Apple unsure what it is paying for.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Intel is getting proficient at developing small computers. First, came its Compute Sticks and then its credit-card-shaped Compute Cards.But nothing's quite like the mysterious Euclid, which is a self-contained computer the size of a thumb designed to be the brains and eyes of a robot.More details have emerged about the computer, which was announced in August and has yet to be released.The Euclid is so small and light that's possible to hold like a pen. It has a built-in 3D RealSense camera, making it like a PC fused into a Microsoft Kinect.The design makes it possible to install the Euclid where the eyes of a human-like robot would be typically placed. The 3D RealSense camera will act as the eyes of a robot, capturing images in real-time and helping with movement.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Get ready, Office 365 administrators: Microsoft is ending support for the Office 2013 client apps that it previously distributed through its cloud-based productivity service. Instead, administrators and users will be pushed to use Office 2016, the latest version of the productivity suite that includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.Starting on Feb. 28, users won’t be able to download the Office 2013 apps from the Office 365 self-service portal, and they won’t be downloadable through the Office 365 Admin Center. Microsoft also won’t release feature updates for those products, and won’t provide support through Customer Service Support or Premier Support.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Researchers at Binghamton State University in New York think your heart could be the key to your personal data. By measuring the electrical activity of the heart, researchers say they can encrypt patients' health records. The fundamental idea is this: In the future, all patients will be outfitted with a wearable device, which will continuously collect physiological data and transmit it to the patients' doctors. Because electrocardiogram (ECG) signals are already collected for clinical diagnosis, the system would simply reuse the data during transmission, thus reducing the cost and computational power needed to create an encryption key from scratch.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Holographic headsets are a central theme to augmented reality (AR) today, but the recent AR in Action Conference demonstrated the diversity of the field and the potential to include many more technologies to augment humans.
The AR in Action Conference, held at the MIT Media Lab, expanded the definition of AR through a TED conference-like lens, delivering 70 diverse curated talks and 32 panels over two days to over 1,000 experts and practitioners in the field.
As Chris Croteau, general manager of Intel’s Wearable Device Group, said:
“A liberal definition of AR focuses on the way data is presented to users and how they interact with it. The popular definition of the AR platform as a holographic projection system like the Hololens, Meta and ODG headsets limits what AR can be.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I recently compiled a list of Raspberry Pi clusters and reader Alex Hortin wrote in to suggest I looked at a cluster framework for up to four Raspberry Pi Zeros called the Cluster HAT produced by 8086 Consultancy. In case you haven’t come across the term, the “HAT” part of Cluster HAT, means that the device implements the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Hardware Attached on Top system for add-on hardware. The Foundation’s 2014 blog post announcing the standard explains:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The ThermoPro TP03A is an effective solution to achieve the most accurate temperature in a matter of seconds. With a simplistic yet practical design, and at the push of the button, the foldaway probe will pop open for quick an easy temperature reading, and when you're done taking the temperature measurement you can fold the probe back into the holding to ensure the probe is kept safe and clean. Stop overcooking or under-cooking your meat and perfect meat temperatures like a professional, ensuring the perfect temp every time you're grilling or cooking. It typically lists for $29.99 and is being discounted 65%, down to $10.49. Learn more or purchase the discounted ThermoPro TP03A Thermometer at Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Viewers may soon see a big change coming in the way they experience the chills and thrills of live sports broadcasts. It'll be customizable, interactive, and it will put them at the center of the experience.If it goes as envisioned, Intel's multi-year plan will allow viewers to tailor their own live sports broadcasts, and watch events as if they were on the field.The live sports broadcasts will be available for VR headsets, PCs, and even TVs. The experience will be unlike live sports today, in which the views and angles are selected by the broadcasters.Instead, viewers in real-time will be able to create their own 3D broadcast of a sports event. Viewers will be able to select any type of view or camera angle they want for the live broadcast.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said he stands by an earlier pledge to face trial in the U.S., but he is first urging federal investigators to name the exact charges against him."I stand by what I said," Assange stated during a webcast on Thursday. "We look forward to having a conversation with the DOJ (U.S. Department of Justice) about what the correct way forward is."Assange previously made his pledge on the condition that President Barack Obama grant clemency to Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. soldier who was jailed for disclosing sensitive documents to WikiLeaks back in 2010.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Setting your phone on a mount in your car has never been easier! WizGear Air Vent Car Mount for smartphones saves you the hassle of placing your smartphone securely to make sure it doesn’t fall just push it in the air vent! The WizGear Air Vent Mount features a magnetic technology, which means your smartphone will be secure and have no chance of falling. When a phone is secure in place, it becomes easier to use for GPS navigation too. With over 12,000 reviews on Amazon, it averages 4.3 out of 5 stars (read reviews). Its typical list price of $16.99 has been reduced by 53% to $7.99. See the discounted WizGear Universal Air Vent Magnetic Car Mount now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here