The best apps to help you relax and reduce stress

Your phone is probably one of the biggest stressors in your life. It’s constantly buzzing with email alerts, text messages, news updates, sports scores, and tweets. Sure, you can turn those off, but then that means you probably just check it more often to see if you “missed anything.”A recent study from the University of Illinois found a likely link between smartphone use, stress, and overall life satisfaction. There’s other evidence that meditation and mindfulness have positive benefits, even some physical changes to the brain. The makers of the Headspace app have a clever animation that explains some of this:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Measure your employees’ results, not their time

If you think money will make your employees happier, you might be wrong. Many workers report they value autonomy over anything else. Of course, you also need to ensure your employees basic needs are met at work. But from there, the data suggests that if you instill trust and freedom in your workforce, they will thrive.Irv Shapiro, CEO of DialogTech, is a strong believer in employee autonomy, and it's something he practices at his own company. "Unless your business sells services by the hour, it makes little sense to measure your employees by the hour. Instead employers should measure their employee's success by the results they produce."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

3 tips for negotiating the salary you deserve

In a recovering economy and a tight IT talent market, candidates are finding they have more leverage when negotiating salary for a new position or angling for a raise. The key to managing this tricky, nerve-wracking process is to focus on your accomplishments, achievements and your overall value to the company -- and be able to quantify those.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

10 tech giants winning the talent war on LinkedIn

The 10 most sought-after U.S. companies that use LinkedIn to attract and retain talent are also technology pioneers. The professional social network says it analyzed billions of interactions between its 433 million users to rank the top companies based on the volume of job applicants, engagement between hiring companies and potential candidates, and employee retention. ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: How to lure tech talent with employee benefits, perks LinkedIn included only companies with more than 500 employees, and it based its ranking on interactions during the 12 months ending in February 2016. The company examined how often users viewed and applied for companies' job postings, the number of non-employees that attempted to view job postings and connect with the hiring companies' employees, and how long new employees stay on the job after they're hired.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers sold access to 170,000 compromised servers, many in the US

The market for hacked servers might be much larger than previously thought, with new evidence suggesting that hackers sold access to over 170,000 compromised servers since 2014, a third of them located in the U.S.The new revelation comes from antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab, whose researchers reported last week that a black market website called xDedic was selling remote access to more than 70,000 compromised servers for as little as US$6.Following the report, a user with the moniker AngryBirds shared several Pastebin lists of IP addresses along with dates that allegedly represented hacked servers sold on xDedic since Oct. 2014.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers sold access to 170,000 compromised servers, many in the US

The market for hacked servers might be much larger than previously thought, with new evidence suggesting that hackers sold access to over 170,000 compromised servers since 2014, a third of them located in the U.S.The new revelation comes from antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab, whose researchers reported last week that a black market website called xDedic was selling remote access to more than 70,000 compromised servers for as little as US$6.Following the report, a user with the moniker AngryBirds shared several Pastebin lists of IP addresses along with dates that allegedly represented hacked servers sold on xDedic since Oct. 2014.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Pica8 Scales Up to 100G Ethernet

Pica8, early pioneer of disaggregated networking and SDN, today announced a new version of their switch operating system, PicOS v2.7.1. Normally I wouldn’t note a networking OS update, but probably the biggest single update for this release is the new support for 100GigabitEthernet switches, with support for both Broadcom and Cavium / XPliant ASICs.

Currently the Hardware Compatibility List for 100G only features Broadcom-based switches but that will undoubtedly change as relative newcomer Cavium / XPliant continues to challenge Broadcom for speed, features and flexibility. I’m also curious to know whether in the future we’ll see hardware on that list using the Barefoot Tofino™ ASIC as well.

In addition to expanding the supported hardware offerings from HP Enterprise, the HCL now also features the first Dell platform to be certified. Dell and HPE are positioning themselves quite effectively as the branded whitebox solution of choice and their devices are supported by a number of software vendors now.

But why do we care about 100G Ethernet, PicOS and more advanced ASICs?

That’s right; because we always want more than we currently have. And, I suppose, because we keep on scaling our networks with more, faster servers. Sure, we’ll Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Why smartphones struggle with 911

When it comes to 911, a dichotomy of functionality seems to exist. We have apps to organize our lives, link us to friends and summon our favorite pizza delivery dude. Despite this, providing 911 centers anything more than very coarse location granularity remains a challenge.Apps promoting personal safety do exist. They claim to provide access to 911 through virtual panic buttons. Many also notify friends and family, which oddly enough are often in no position to provide any help or assistance. “Oh my gosh! Fletch is in trouble in Cucamonga, California! Let’s do something! Wait, we’re in New Jersey and have no idea who to call in Cucamonga or what to tell them!”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

This IS your grandma’s Internet: Samsung plans to invest in IoT

In the future, everything will be connected -- even your grandparents.That's what Samsung Electronics is counting on as it draws up a four-year plan to invest US$1.2 billion in U.S. IoT startups and research.The company sees the Internet of things as a way to provide dementia care and to help millions of elderly people live independently, using a range of devices including some akin to fitness trackers."We can keep people out of hospitals and nursing homes," Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon said at a company event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. "As our populations live longer, these benefits and cost savings for society cannot be ignored."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

128 Technology Raises $36M to Simplify Virtual Routers

Session-aware and deterministic routers are the key.

Worth Reading: One-fourth of malware comes from sharing

This report took up where we last off last quarter on our cloud malware research, in which we found that 4.1 percent of enterprises had at least one sanctioned cloud app laced with malware. This quarter that number has risen to 11.0 percent, or nearly triple since last quarter. This is before counting unsanctioned apps, which we are researching and will incorporate into future reports. -Cloud Security Alliance

The post Worth Reading: One-fourth of malware comes from sharing appeared first on 'net work.

Say hello to Fedora 24, a Linux OS for a containerized world

Say hello to Fedora 24, a Linux OS for a containerized worldImage by The Fedora ProjectFedora 24 is the first 2016 release from the Red Hat-sponsored Fedora Project, and it made its debut on Tuesday. Included in the software are several key new features for enterprises. Here's a look at some of the highlights.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech groups say FBI shouldn’t be allowed to do mass hacking

Congress should block proposed changes to rules governing U.S. law enforcement investigations that could give law enforcement agencies new authority to hack thousands of computers, several tech and advocacy groups said.Congress should stop the proposed changes, approved by the Supreme Court in April, that would allow judges to issue warrants for hacking and surveillance in cases where investigators don't know the target computer's location, a coalition of 50 tech trade groups, digital rights groups, and tech companies said in a letter sent Tuesday to congressional leaders.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech groups say FBI shouldn’t be allowed to do mass hacking

Congress should block proposed changes to rules governing U.S. law enforcement investigations that could give law enforcement agencies new authority to hack thousands of computers, several tech and advocacy groups said. Congress should stop the proposed changes, approved by the Supreme Court in April, that would allow judges to issue warrants for hacking and surveillance in cases where investigators don't know the target computer's location, a coalition of 50 tech trade groups, digital rights groups, and tech companies said in a letter sent Tuesday to congressional leaders.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Activists fighting expansion of government powers to hack private computers

Rights activists led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project are rallying similar organizations and their constituents to step up opposition to a rules change backed by the U.S. Justice Department that would grant law enforcement vast new surveillance authorities and undermine anonymity online.Website operators are  being asked to join the effort today by posting banners on their sites.From an EFF press release: EFF and over 40 partner organizations are holding a day of action for a new campaign—noglobalwarrants.org—to engage citizens about the dangers of Rule 41 and push U.S. lawmakers to oppose it. The process for updating these rules—which govern federal criminal court processes—was intended to deal exclusively with procedural issues. But this year a U.S. judicial committee approved changes in the rule that will expand judicial authority to grant warrants for government hacking. …To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Activists fighting expansion of government powers to hack private computers

Rights activists led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project are rallying similar organizations and their constituents to step up opposition to a rules change backed by the U.S. Justice Department that would grant law enforcement vast new surveillance authorities and undermine anonymity online.Website operators are  being asked to join the effort today by posting banners on their sites.From an EFF press release: EFF and over 40 partner organizations are holding a day of action for a new campaign—noglobalwarrants.org—to engage citizens about the dangers of Rule 41 and push U.S. lawmakers to oppose it. The process for updating these rules—which govern federal criminal court processes—was intended to deal exclusively with procedural issues. But this year a U.S. judicial committee approved changes in the rule that will expand judicial authority to grant warrants for government hacking. …To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FireEye: China still spies on U.S. companies, but maybe less

The United States and China forged an agreement last year not to conduct cyber espionage against corporations, but it seems pretty likely that groups based in China have continued to do so. However, it might not all be the fault of the government there, according to a report from security company FireEye. Of 72 groups that FireEye suspects of operating in China or in China’s interests, 13 of them compromised corporate networks in the U.S., Europe and Japan between last fall - when the agreement was reached - and this month, according the report, “Redline Drawn: China Recalculates Its Use of Cyber Espionage”.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FireEye: China still spies on U.S. companies, but maybe less

The United States and China forged an agreement last year not to conduct cyber espionage against corporations, but it seems pretty likely that groups based in China have continued to do so. However, it might not all be the fault of the government there, according to a report from security company FireEye. Of 72 groups that FireEye suspects of operating in China or in China’s interests, 13 of them compromised corporate networks in the U.S., Europe and Japan between last fall - when the agreement was reached - and this month, according the report, “Redline Drawn: China Recalculates Its Use of Cyber Espionage”.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Owning The Internet Isn’t Cheating, Which Will Make The Iraqi Government Happy

Before students around the world can embrace summer vacation, they must first endure final exams. This time-tested tradition brings late night cram sessions, the regurgitation of facts and figures, nail biting and sweaty palms. For those who work hard, final exams can build character. And for those who started their summer break too early, there’s an easier option: cheating.

As the spouse of a teacher, I know cheating is a major concern in classrooms around the world. Teachers have a variety of tricks to prevent this including watching their students like hawks, giving out different tests, not allowing labeled bottled drinks or even requiring an ID before entering the room.

Of course, some countries take their prevention measures to the extreme. Iraq literally shut off the internet and Algeria blocked Twitter and Facebook. All of this in an effort to prevent cheating. Yikes!

This is a great reminder of a couple of things:

The internet is a tool. A tool is only as valuable as the hands it is in. It can be used for bad purposes. It can also be used to transform the world. I look at stories like how Land O’Lakes is leveraging data to help their Continue reading

First Steps from CCNA R&S SDN to APIs and Programming

On the same day I posted this post, I’m also speaking in a webinar about the new CCNA R&S exams, hosted by the folks at the Cisco Learning Network (CLN).  The new exams have some SDN content. And it always seems like when you talk to networkers about anything that sounds like SDN, the question comes up: should I learn programming?

Today’s question answers a similar question, one that I hope is useful for the specific audience for the webinar. If you assume that programming is a skill you should learn, and you’re currently studying for CCNA R&S, what’s a good path from CCNA learning to then learning programming? That is, what are some good steps to bridge between those Cisco CCNA R&S SDN exam topics and then learning programming?

Continue reading