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Category Archives for "Networking"

Why your smartphone is sicker than a room full of snotty toddlers

If you thought your smartphone was safe(r) from the wild west of malware, spyware and other viruses compared with the PC space, think again. A new report from Nokia proclaims a “sharp rise in the occurrence of smartphone malware infections” in the first half of 2016. Taking the big hit are smartphone infections, which now account for 78% of all infections across the mobile network, says Nokia in its latest Nokia Threat Intelligence Report. The report is compiled by the company’s Threat Intelligence Lab, which aggregates anonymous data across global mobile networks using its Nokia NetGuard Endpoint Security product. Along with traffic monitor that detects malware command-and-control traffic and exploit attempts (among other attacks), the lab also keeps a database of the latest malware to analyze how attacks occur.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Using guestfish to modify VM disk image

EarIier I wrote about some ways to modify VM disk images used by Unetlab. Basically it boils down to running a VM, console to it and change things through its shell. Obviously, this approach is no way near a handy way to do small changes like: loading basic config adding license files In this post I will talk

IDG Contributor Network: The 8 fallacies of distributed computing are becoming irrelevant

In 1969, the U.S. Department of Defense created ARPANET, the precursor to today’s internet. Around the same time, the SWIFT protocol used for money transfers was also established. These are both early examples of distributed systems: a collection of independent computers that appear to users as a single coherent system.Many come to know they have a distributed system when the crash of a computer they’ve never heard of affects the whole system. This is often the result of assumptions architects and designers of distribution systems are likely to make.In 1994, Peter Deutsch, who worked at Sun Microsystems, wrote about these assumptions to explore what can go wrong in distributed systems. In 1997, James Gosling added to this list to create what is commonly known as the eight fallacies of distributed computing. Traditional approaches, which use time-based replication to architect and build distributed systems, suffer from many of these fallacies and result in systems that are inefficient, insecure and costly to maintain. Modern approaches, using complex mathematics such as the Paxos algorithm, overcome many of these significant hurdles.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: The 8 fallacies of distributed computing are becoming irrelevant

In 1969, the U.S. Department of Defense created ARPANET, the precursor to today’s internet. Around the same time, the SWIFT protocol used for money transfers was also established. These are both early examples of distributed systems: a collection of independent computers that appear to users as a single coherent system.Many come to know they have a distributed system when the crash of a computer they’ve never heard of affects the whole system. This is often the result of assumptions architects and designers of distribution systems are likely to make.In 1994, Peter Deutsch, who worked at Sun Microsystems, wrote about these assumptions to explore what can go wrong in distributed systems. In 1997, James Gosling added to this list to create what is commonly known as the eight fallacies of distributed computing. Traditional approaches, which use time-based replication to architect and build distributed systems, suffer from many of these fallacies and result in systems that are inefficient, insecure and costly to maintain. Modern approaches, using complex mathematics such as the Paxos algorithm, overcome many of these significant hurdles.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Dropbox data breach is a warning to update passwords

Recent data breaches underline the need for Internet users to regularly update the passwords for all their Internet accounts.On Wednesday, Spotify reset the passwords of an unspecified number of users, just a day after data on 68 million accounts from Dropbox began reaching the Internet.In a notice to users, Spotify said their credentials may have been compromised in a leak involving another service, if they used the same password for both.“Spotify has not experienced a security breach and our user records are secure,” the company said in an email. The password reset is merely a precaution, it said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Dropbox data breach is a warning to update passwords

Recent data breaches underline the need for Internet users to regularly update the passwords for all their Internet accounts.On Wednesday, Spotify reset the passwords of an unspecified number of users, just a day after data on 68 million accounts from Dropbox began reaching the Internet.In a notice to users, Spotify said their credentials may have been compromised in a leak involving another service, if they used the same password for both.“Spotify has not experienced a security breach and our user records are secure,” the company said in an email. The password reset is merely a precaution, it said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDC predicts a rebound in tablet sales

Tablet sales have been in a serious downward spiral, but market research firm IDC has reason for optimism and believes they are due for a comeback.There is a caveat to that prediction, and that's because of a qualifier category: detachables. Tablet sales are already down 11.5 percent worldwide, while convertible and detachable devices are enjoying an uptick in sales, which is expected to continue through 2020, with shipments reaching 194.2 million as detachable tablets continue to take share from traditional PCs. + Also on Network World: Enterprise use of hybrid tablets growing fast +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Which countries have open-source laws on the books?

As the institutional use of open-source software continues to expand like an octopus, the public sector remains a key target market.Government users like Linux and other open-source software for several reasons, but the most important ones are probably that total cost of ownership is often lower than it is for proprietary products and that open-source projects don’t vanish if the company providing them goes under.Government IT folks are likely quite familiar with the perils of proprietary legacy systems - a recent Congressional hearing revealed that there are computers that date back to 1976 still in use at the federal level, and that critical taxpayer data is stored on a system written more than 50 years ago, in assembly language.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Huawei picks new name, but no new technology, for ‘Nova’ phones

Practical and reliable is the image Huawei Technologies is trying to project with two new smartphones unveiled at the IFA tradeshow on Thursday. The two phones are aimed squarely at the mid-market, and feature tried and trusted technologies, according to Kevin Ho, president of Huawei's handsets product line. So it's strange that, for phones with so little novelty, Huawei has decided on the name Nova. The Nova and Nova Plus are solid phones with rigid, confidence-inspiring aluminum cases. They run Android Marshmallow on eight-core Qualcomm processors with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of flash storage, expandable via a microSD slot. There's a fingerprint sensor on the back of the case.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Baidu open sources its deep learning platform PaddlePaddle

Taking a cue from some of its U.S. peers like Google, Chinese Internet search giant Baidu has decided to open source its deep learning platform.The company claims that the platform, code-named PaddlePaddle after PArallel Distributed Deep LEarning, will let developers focus on the high-level structure of their models without having to worry about the low-level details. A machine translation program written with PaddlePaddle, for example, requires significantly less code than on other popular deep learning platforms, said Baidu spokeswoman Calisa Cole.The PaddlePaddle platform has been used in-house by Baidu to develop products and technologies for search ranking, large-scale image classification, optical character recognition, machine translation and advertising, Baidu said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Last ditch iPhone 7 rumor rollup: EarPod, 256GB storage speculation gains steam

Apple's confirmation that it will be making news on Sept. 7 means that our regular iPhone 7 rumor roundups are winding down, but you didn't expect the rumors to dry up before the big day, did you?Just this week, the following fresh scuttlebutt has surfaced, more or less confirming a couple of the most persistent rumors about the next big iOS devices:*Mashable cites a Dutch site that posted a technical document for the iPhone 7 Plus describing "EarPods with Lightning connector," adding support to the strong rumor that Apple is ditching the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack.  A Lightning-to-headphone jack adapter and Lightning-to-USB cable connector are also mentioned.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HP’s Elite Slice mini-PC stacks up features with snap-on modules

Building a tricked-out PC from scratch can be a satisfying experience. But it's not for everyone, which is why we have modular desktops like HP's new Elite Slice.The Elite Slice is a mini-PC that lets users add features just by snapping external modules onto the main box. No more unscrewing the chassis just to add a component.The modules stack up underneath the base unit. A proprietary connector based on the USB 3.1 protocol binds the PC with the modules.Snapping modules onto the Elite Slice is as easy as joining two Lego parts. For HP,  the modular desktop eases PC customization and reduces cable clutter.The Elite Slice is targeted at business users who wants a desktop that's stylish. The mini-PC is priced starting at $699 and will ship this month. Audio, optical-drive and VESA mounting-plate modules will be sold separately for between $35 and $110.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Big data salaries set to rise in 2017

Starting salaries for big data pros will continue to rise in 2017 as companies jockey to hire skilled data professionals.Recruiting and staffing specialist Robert Half Technology studied more than 75 tech positions for its annual guide to U.S. tech salaries, including 13 jobs in the data/data administration field.In the big picture, starting salaries for newly hired IT workers are forecast to climb 3.8% next year. (See also: 14 hot network jobs/skills for 2017)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

iPhone 7 Plus may come with a 256GB storage option

One of the more interesting iPhone 7 rumors suggests that Apple’s next-gen iPhone will come with a 256GB storage options. While 256GB of storage may seem excessive, it perhaps stands to reason that the iPhone 7 Plus -- on account of its dual camera system which will take presumably large high-res photos -- will need more storage than many are anticipating.That said, an interesting iPhone 7 leak hit the Apple blogosphere earlier today when a spec sheet purporting to be for the iPhone 7 was posted on the Chinese microblogging website Weibo. As evidenced via the photo below, a 256GB iPhone 7 Plus model may be announced next week at Apple’s special media event.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

24% off Zackees LED Turn Signal Bike lights

The use of turn signals drastically increases safety of cars. Now cycling can have that same benefit with these turn signal gloves from Zackees. These machine washable gloves are made from premium materials -- tough, flexible leather and breathable spandex. The LED lights are powerful and bright, running on rechargeable coin batteries that will last for several weeks of moderate daily use before needing a charge. Ambient light sensors increase brightness 4x during the day. These gloves average 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 150 people (read reviews), and their typical list price of $99 has been reduced 24% to $74.95.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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