IT leaders share how they quell cybersecurity attacks

Ask CIOs and CISOs what cybersecurity fears keep them up at night and you’ll hear a range of responses -- from social engineering hacks such as phishing, as well as malware that enables perpetrators to hijack users' websites -- the dreaded ransomware -- and denial-of-service attacks. Depending on their business you might hear them say "all of the above."These threats are driving increased spending on cybersecurity tools intended to protect corporate data from nation-state actors, lone wolf attackers and other malcontents who are seeking access to corporate data. IT leaders know that it takes only one well-placed exploit to infiltrate a corporate network, but they also acknowledge that the best approach is to shrink their attack surface and be ready to respond to an incident in the event of an attack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IT leaders share how they quell cybersecurity attacks

Ask CIOs and CISOs what cybersecurity fears keep them up at night and you’ll hear a range of responses -- from social engineering hacks such as phishing, as well as malware that enables perpetrators to hijack users' websites -- the dreaded ransomware -- and denial-of-service attacks. Depending on their business you might hear them say "all of the above."These threats are driving increased spending on cybersecurity tools intended to protect corporate data from nation-state actors, lone wolf attackers and other malcontents who are seeking access to corporate data. IT leaders know that it takes only one well-placed exploit to infiltrate a corporate network, but they also acknowledge that the best approach is to shrink their attack surface and be ready to respond to an incident in the event of an attack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Windows 10 powers 9% of business PCs

Microsoft Windows 10 powered about 9% of all business personal computers a year and a half after its launch, a just-released study of corporate deployments said.According to Austin, Texas-based Spiceworks, an online community and resource for IT professionals and the vendors trying to reach them, the proportion of company-deployed PCs running Windows 10 was almost double that of its predecessor, Windows 8, which powered 5% of all enterprise desktop and laptop systems.[ Related: Fix Windows 10 problems with these free Microsoft tools ] That Spiceworks' number was just a fraction of the global user share of Windows 10 -- on Saturday, analytics vendor Net Applications pegged 10's share as 25% of the world's PCs -- was no surprise. Most of the users who have adopted Windows 10 were consumers, not commercial customers: The latter are traditionally much slower to migrate machines to a new OS.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Formatting Matters

Using proper formatting can make it much easier to read code and log samples. Yet so many people don’t bother putting proper formatting around blocks of text. Take some time to learn how to format text in common applications and forums, and make things easier for those trying to help you.

What’s easier to read?

This?

version: ‘2.0’

examples.mistral-yaql-st2kv-user-scope:
vars:
polo: unspecified
tasks:
task1:
action: std.noop
publish:
polo: < st2kv(‘marco’) %>
on-complete:
- fail: < $.polo != polo %>

Or this?

version: '2.0'

examples.mistral-yaql-st2kv-user-scope:
    vars:
        polo: unspecified
    tasks:
        task1:
            action: std.noop
            publish:
                polo: <% st2kv('marco') %>
            on-complete:
                - fail: <% $.polo != polo %>

Which one is easier to read? Which one lets you parse key information faster? Which one clearly shows file formatting and indentation? Obvious, right?

Yet far too often, I see people paste unformatted text into Slack, GitHub comments, and web forums. They dump huge blocks of unformatted, difficult to read code and logs. Even after repeated prompts to use proper formatting, they just dump big blocks of text.

The good thing is that it’s not that Continue reading

Formatting Matters

Using proper formatting can make it much easier to read code and log samples. Yet so many people don’t bother putting proper formatting around blocks of text. Take some time to learn how to format text in common applications and forums, and make things easier for those trying to help you.

What’s easier to read?

This?

version: ‘2.0’

examples.mistral-yaql-st2kv-user-scope:
vars:
polo: unspecified
tasks:
task1:
action: std.noop
publish:
polo: <% st2kv('marco') %>
on-complete:
– fail: <% $.polo != polo %>

Or this?

Which one is easier to read? Which one lets you parse key information faster? Which one clearly shows file formatting and indentation? Obvious, right?

Yet far too often, I see people paste unformatted text into Slack, GitHub comments, and web forums. They dump huge blocks of unformatted, difficult to read code and logs. Even after repeated prompts to use proper formatting, they just dump big blocks of text.

The good thing is that it’s not that hard to change the display formatting. Many applications contain shortcuts to make this easy. It’s worth your time learning a few of the tips and tricks.

Slack & GitHub

Both Slack and GitHub use a form of Markdown to make it easy Continue reading

It’s not the end of SPARC chips yet

Fujitsu is helping to keep SPARC from extinction as it continues to design and develop the architecture. The company has introduced two Unix servers -- the M12-2S and the M12-2 -- using SPARC chips based on a new CPU architecture.The M12 servers are about 2.5 times faster than their predecessor, the M10, which used the older SPARC X chips.Oracle and partner Fujitsu are the only companies using the SPARC architecture, and share a healthy partnership. Devotees of SPARC feared the architecture was on its way out after Oracle restructured its Solaris OS and chip roadmap and Fujitsu adopted ARM architecture to build Japan's flagship supercomputer, Post-K, which is due for release by 2020.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

It’s not the end of SPARC chips yet

Fujitsu is helping to keep SPARC from extinction as it continues to design and develop the architecture. The company has introduced two Unix servers -- the M12-2S and the M12-2 -- using SPARC chips based on a new CPU architecture.The M12 servers are about 2.5 times faster than their predecessor, the M10, which used the older SPARC X chips.Oracle and partner Fujitsu are the only companies using the SPARC architecture, and share a healthy partnership. Devotees of SPARC feared the architecture was on its way out after Oracle restructured its Solaris OS and chip roadmap and Fujitsu adopted ARM architecture to build Japan's flagship supercomputer, Post-K, which is due for release by 2020.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple says new Mac Pros and iMacs are coming

Apple this week disclosed to a number of outlets, including John Gruber of Daring Fireball, that the company has not forgotten about its demographic of small but influential pro users. Quite the opposite, Apple says that's already working on a brand new Mac Pro that will feature a modular design, thereby addressing one of the longstanding complaints surrounding the company's current Mac Pro.In the interim, Apple also revealed -- at long last -- that it will be upgrading the current Mac Pro's internals, thereby giving users a little bit more bang for the buck. Specifically, the entry level Mac Pro will now feature 6 Xeon CPU cores and dual G500 GPUs while the pricier $3999 model will feature 8 CPU cores and dual D700 GPUs. While these spec upgrades aren't groundbreaking, it's a nice gesture from Apple given that the Mac Pro hasn't changed one iota since Apple originally introduced the machine back in June of 2013.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: IPAM and RIRs

In terms of the strategy surrounding IPAM, most of the thinking was focused on a ‘downward’ approach, in as much as you define a pool of IP addresses and the role of IPAM is to manage its application to devices and systems in your network: configure bindings to customer accounts, billing, assign maps between device identifier and IP, size pools to reflect DHCP requirements, and configure the CGN. —APNIC

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Hybrid SD-WAN Deployment Models on the Rise

It's about finding the right service for the right location.

Reaching the next level for Online Trust

Up!

Apple fixes wireless-based remote code execution flaw in iOS

Apple released an iOS update Monday to fix a serious vulnerability that could allow attackers to remotely execute malicious code on the Broadcom Wi-Fi chips used in iPhones, iPads, and iPods.The vulnerability is a stack buffer overflow in the feature that handles authentication responses for the fast BSS transition feature of the 802.11r protocol, also known as fast roaming. This feature allows devices to move easily and securely between different wireless base stations in the same domain.Hackers can exploit the flaw to execute code in the context of the Wi-Fi chip's firmware if they're within the wireless range of the targeted devices.The issue is one of several flaws found by Google Project Zero researcher Gal Beniamini in the firmware of Broadcom Wi-Fi chips. Some of these vulnerabilities also affect Android devices and have been patched as part of Android's April security bulletin.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple fixes wireless-based remote code execution flaw in iOS

Apple released an iOS update Monday to fix a serious vulnerability that could allow attackers to remotely execute malicious code on the Broadcom Wi-Fi chips used in iPhones, iPads, and iPods.The vulnerability is a stack buffer overflow in the feature that handles authentication responses for the fast BSS transition feature of the 802.11r protocol, also known as fast roaming. This feature allows devices to move easily and securely between different wireless base stations in the same domain.Hackers can exploit the flaw to execute code in the context of the Wi-Fi chip's firmware if they're within the wireless range of the targeted devices.The issue is one of several flaws found by Google Project Zero researcher Gal Beniamini in the firmware of Broadcom Wi-Fi chips. Some of these vulnerabilities also affect Android devices and have been patched as part of Android's April security bulletin.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

VMware Offloads vCloud Air to Europe’s OVH

European OVH plans to become a disruptive force in the public cloud.

AT&T Picks Barefoot Networks for Programmable Switches

AT&T is the first telco to use programmable switches from Barefoot in its network.

Open source routing project gets a vital technology infusion

Open source networking proponents have uncorked an updated routing protocol project designed to give white box, virtualized environments of all sizes fast and reliable communications.The project, now called the Free Range Routing (FRR) offers a full-on IP routing protocol suite for Linux/Unix platforms and includes protocol daemons for BGP, IS-IS, LDP, OSPF, PIM, and RIP. The FRR groupsays that the technology’s integration with the native Linux/Unix IP networking stacksmakes it applicable to a wide variety of applications from connectinghosts/virtual machines/containers to the network, advertising network services, LAN switching and routing, Internet access routers, and Internet peering.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Clean up your desk space with cool MacBook Pro docking station

I use a MacBook Pro as my main notebook for work, and when I’m in my cubicle I like to connect things like an additional monitor, storage drives and peripherals like a larger keyboard and wireless mouse. The best way to do this is with a docking station, but the last one I used required that I also prop up some books to rest the notebook on to create the dual-display effect I was looking for.A much sleeker system comes from Henge Docks, which sent me its new automated docking station. The company makes two horizontal docks for MacBook Pro owners – one for MacBooks that have the Retina display ($399 introductory price, available for 13-inch and 15-inch models), and one for the new MacBook Pro (pre-order, coming soon). The dock features a metal chassis and 13 expansion ports (two audio ports, SD Card Reader, HDMI, six USB 3.0, power port, Ethernet, Thunderbolt 2 and mini display port). The slim profile of the dock makes for a much cleaner desktop look and feel.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

37% off LifeStraw Personal Water Filter – Deal Alert

Having a LifeStraw Personal Water Filter at hand provides access to clean, safe drinking water whenever needed.  Weighing only 2 oz. (54g), LifeStraw is the perfect water filter for hiking and camping. LifeStraw uses advanced 0.2 micron hollow fiber membrane technology.  This highly efficient method of filtration requires no chemicals, batteries, or moving parts and can be easily backflushed to clean the filter. Perfect for a vehicle or home emergency kit.  The LifeStraw averages 4.7 out of 5 stars from over 5,200 people (read reviews). Its typical list price of $20 has been reduced 37% to $12.50.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

On the ‘net: CAP and SDN

The CAP theorem essentially states that consistency, accessibility, and portioning are three sides of a tradeoff triangle. Much like quick, cheap, and quality; or state, optimization, and surface; CAP posits that you can choose “two out of three.” To illustrate, it is often helpful to consider a database in various stages of being partitioned, and consider the impact on consistency and accessibility, the other two sides of the triangle. The figure below will be used as a reference. —ECI

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