When the boss wants a prototype as soon as possible or a client needs something tomorrow, the cloud is the best place to turn. You can have a fully configured machine serving data in minutes.One of the most developer-friendly options is DigitalOcean, a cloud that offers fast machines at reasonable prices, delivering them in seconds. It doesn’t offer the fancier features that the major cloud providers do—at this writing—but it does package raw machines in a way that’s a breeze to deploy. If you’re a developer with an idea that needs a home, DigitalOcean’s machines are blank slates ready to go.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Keeping the network safeImage by ThinkstockAs long as data is online there will always be concerns over cyber security. There are many steps a business can take to help better protect their physical security systems from cyber threats. From simple things like not using default or simple passwords, to more advanced steps like using PKI certificates and making sure you download the latest firmware - each are important to keeping your data, and your network, secure.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Tired of Tinder? Bored with Bumble? Luckily for you, there’s a new crop of iOS dating apps that might help you score a last-minute date this Valentine’s Day—or at least give you some much-needed amusement to get through another Singles Awareness Day.While matching and swiping has become the law of the land when it comes to online dating, these new apps take a slightly different approach. Here are the dating apps vying to help you find love in quirky new ways.Hater
Hater
Haters gonna hate, so why not have an app that’s going to help them date as well. While we tend to think compatibility comes from having shared likes, Hater (iTunes) leverages the power of shared dislikes to make a connection. Yep, this app will match you with someone who hates the same things you do, whether that happens to be turnips or Trump.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
We are at the point where computers and machines are no longer going to be simply tools. Computers are becoming, literally, part of us."There are a couple of very interesting things happening as we speak facilitating humans and machines working together in a very different way," said Justin Sanchez, director of the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA.Smart exoskeletons help people with paralysis walk again, give soldiers extra strength and endurance, and implanted computer chips help the blind see again or help others feel a sense of touch in a prosthetic foot.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Providing stand-out customer experiences starts with creating “customer journey maps.” It’s not something CIOs typically know much about, but if you’re headed down the path to becoming a digital business, that’s going to have to change, according to a Forrester Research Inc. report.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Microsoft announced a new service called Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP) last year specifically for enterprises, meant to help detect, investigate and respond to attacks on their networks. It was released with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update and is built on the existing security in Windows 10. WDATP offers a new post-breach layer of protection to the Windows 10 security stack, as well as a cloud service to help detect threats that have made it past other defenses and trace how far they penetrated into the enterprise. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
New products of the weekImage by ZenossOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.USM AnywhereImage by alienvaultTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Nearly 27 years of network and cybersecurity experience with the Department of Defense didn’t prepare Gary Hayslip for the collection of disparate technologies he encountered when he joined the city of San Diego.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Whether you love it or hate it, Windows 10 is here to stay. Unlike previous versions of Windows, there are fewer readily apparent differences between versions. In other words, the Professional version looks a lot like the Home version and it can take some digging to figure out how to leverage the advanced features of Pro.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Lenovo has introduced tablets with unique designs over the years, and their latest Yoga Book, released in October, is one of the most intriguing examples. This hybrid device looks like a mini notebook, but it’s technically a tablet with a swing-open digital drawing and writing pad that can capture your handwriting or sketching when you use its included digital pen.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Cybercriminals acting on behalf of national governments and nation-backed espionage agents carrying out cybercrimes for cash on the side is the future of security threats facing corporations and governments, says the former top U.S. attorney in charge of the Department of Justice’s national security division. Morrison & Foerster
John Carlin
“I think this blending of criminal and national security, whether it’s terrorists or state actors moonlighting as crooks or state actors using criminal groups as a way to distance themselves from the action, I think that is a trend that we saw increasing that’s just going to continue to increase over the next three to five years,” says John Carlin, now an attorney with Morrison & Foerster.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Today’s cautionary tale comes from Verizon’s sneak peek (pdf) of the 2017 Data Breach Digest scenario. It involves an unnamed university, seafood searches, and an IoT botnet; hackers were using the university’s own vending machines and other IoT devices to attack the university’s network.Since the university’s help desk had previously blown off student complaints about slow or inaccessible network connectivity, it was a mess by the time a senior member of the IT security team was notified. The incident is given from that team member’s perspective; he or she suspected something fishy after detecting a sudden big interest in seafood-related domains.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Tickets for the Microsoft Build 2017, this year's edition of the annual developers' confab, will go on sale at noon EST/9am PST on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14.If you're interested in going, you should register for a shot at tickets at this Microsoft website. Tickets sold out in about a minute last year. It's not clear how much tickets will cost, but at last year's event in San Francisco, the face value was over $2,000.In a blog post about Build 2017, Microsoft EVP of the Cloud and Enterprise Group Scott Guthrie says this year's gathering in Seattle from May 10-12 is expected to attract more than 5,000 developers, plus millions more via live stream. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Privacy advocates are claiming in court that an FBI hacking operation to take down a child pornography site was unconstitutional and violated international law.That’s because the operation involved the FBI hacking 8,700 computers in 120 countries, based on a single warrant, they said.“How will other countries react to the FBI hacking in their jurisdictions without prior consent?” wrote Scarlet Kim, a legal officer with U.K.-based Privacy International.On Friday, that group, along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, filed briefs in a lawsuit involving the FBI’s hacking operation against Playpen. The child pornography site was accessible through Tor, a browser designed for anonymous web surfing. But in 2014, the FBI managed to take it over.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The whole idea of IoT is to connect more things, including devices far from a company’s data centers or maintenance crews. For enterprises that have things all over the world, vendors and service providers are starting to look at the big picture.At Mobile World Congress later this month, Nokia will show off what it calls WING (worldwide IoT network grid), a virtual global infrastructure that may include multiple private and carrier networks and satellite systems, depending on what an enterprise needs to connect and how it intends to use the data that’s collected.“A global enterprise can actually have what they think is their own virtual network of global connectivity for their IoT devices,” said Phil Twist, vice president of mobile networks marketing & communications, in a briefing this week. WING will be commercially available in the second half of this year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Kuna is a smart home security camera in a stylish outdoor light that detects and allows you to interact with people outside your door. The security device includes HD live and recorded video, two-way intercom, alarm, smart motion detection alerts to your phone, and more. Easy 15 minute installation with no batteries to replace so you have continuous protection around the clock. Be protected at all times - Access HD live video with its 720P wide angle camera, communicate via its two way intercom from your mobile device, or activate its 100 dB alarm siren. Smart light control lets you turn on or off your lights remotely, or program a schedule for when you're away. Access live video or review & download events for 2 hours free or up to 30-days on an optional subscription plan, starting as low as $4.99 per month. This Kuna security light averages 4 out of 5 stars from over 600 people (read reviews), and its typical list price of $199 has been reduced 25% to $149. See the discounted Kuna Smart Home Security Light and Camera on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The numbers involved in Avaya’s Chapter 11 filing are big.A company netting just under a $1 billion per year owes about seven years’ profits to repay the leverage heaped on the otherwise healthy company in an $8.2 billion private equity buyout in 2007.It also has over 5,500 patents and was named in 2012 one the 100 most innovative companies in Silicon Valley. That’s just the beginning of the saga. There are many more stories to tell.+ Also on Network World: Avaya says bankruptcy is a step toward software and services +
All hope for a fair and speedy resolution to the Chapter 11 filing, and so far, so good, according to multiple observers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Ford plans to spend US$1 billion over the next five years on the development of an artificial intelligence system for driverless cars.Ford will investment the money in Argo AI, a start-up founded by former leaders from Google and Uber's self-driving car research units, and they will work toward the goal of a system that's ready for deployment in 2021.The research will be focused on a virtual driver system capable of operating at what's called "SAE level 4." It's one of five levels defined for self-driving cars and specifically describes an autonomous car that's capable of completely controlling the vehicle in almost any condition. After it has been engaged, drivers do not need to pay attention to the driving.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Intel realizes there will be a post-Moore's Law era and is already investing in technologies to drive computing beyond today's PCs and servers.The chipmaker is "investing heavily" in quantum and neuromorphic computing, said Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, during a question-and-answer session at the company's investor day on Thursday."We are investing in those edge type things that are way out there," Krzanich said.To give an idea of how far out these technologies are, Krzanich said his daughter would perhaps be running the company by then.Researching in these technologies, which are still in their infancy, is something Intel has to do to survive for many more decades. Shrinking silicon chips and cramming more features into them is becoming difficult, and Intel is already having trouble in manufacturing smaller chips.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Up to 20 attackers or groups of attackers are defacing WordPress websites that haven't yet applied a recent patch for a critical vulnerability.The vulnerability, located in the platform's REST API, allows unauthenticated attackers to modify the content of any post or page within a WordPress site. The flaw was fixed in WordPress 4.7.2, released on Jan. 26, but the WordPress team did not publicly disclose the vulnerability's existence until a week later, to allow enough time for a large number of users to deploy the update.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here