Review: GitLab rocks version control

If you’ve spent any time evaluating software version-control systems, you have undoubtedly looked at GitHub Enterprise and Bitbucket Server, two big names that offer both on-premises installs and a SaaS option. You also should have run into GitLab, an open source project backed by the company of the same name. GitLab is available in a free community edition, paid enterprise and hosted editions, and a free SaaS offering that includes the enterprise features. Though less of a household name, GitLab is a compelling alternative to its more popular rivals.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Oracle cuts management, messaging specs in Java EE 8

Oracle is making good on plans to cut management and messaging improvements from the next version of enterprise Java.The company is axing Management 2.0 and Java Message Service (JMS) 2.1 from the Java EE 8 road map. Also, Oracle is investigating a possible transfer of the MVC functionality planned EE 8 to another community member or organization.[ The big 4 Java IDEs reviewed: See how Eclipse, NetBeans, JDeveloper, and IntelliJ IDEA stack up. | Keep up with hot topics in programming with InfoWorld's Application Development newsletter. ] "These changes are consistent with the revised Java EE road map presented at the JavaOne 2016 conference in September, in which Oracle proposed to remove these JSRs from Java EE 8," Oracle's David Delabassee noted.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech Forecast 2017: IT sharpens its focus

Tech executives are optimistic as they head into 2017. One of the biggest reasons for the hopeful outlook is the fact that business and IT are finally on the same page, with planned technology projects and overall strategic business goals closely aligned for the upcoming year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Who’s on your IT security dream team?

Getting the gang togetherImage by ThinkstockLast month, I presented you a chamber of horrors—the worst people you meet doing IT security, many of them your friends and, sadly, co-workers. But I don't like to dwell on the negative! So I asked a slew of IT pros about the best people, the ones they want on their side when facing down the toughest security challenges. There are a number of important roles to fill, and I'm not just talking about job titles: I mean attitudes, and abilities that verge on superpowers. IT security is a team sport, so who do you want on your team?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Who’s on your IT security dream team?

Getting the gang togetherImage by ThinkstockLast month, I presented you a chamber of horrors—the worst people you meet doing IT security, many of them your friends and, sadly, co-workers. But I don't like to dwell on the negative! So I asked a slew of IT pros about the best people, the ones they want on their side when facing down the toughest security challenges. There are a number of important roles to fill, and I'm not just talking about job titles: I mean attitudes, and abilities that verge on superpowers. IT security is a team sport, so who do you want on your team?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

8 tech startup trends to watch in 2017

According to a set of intelligent humans interviewed for this story, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are going to help drive the tech economy in 2017.When CIO.com posted a query on Help a Reporter Out, a site designed to help journalists connect with sources, asking about startup trends to watch in 2017, the overwhelming majority of respondents pointed to AI. This coming year and beyond, AI will help companies "disrupt sectors that haven't been fully disrupted," says Anthony Glomski, principal of AG Asset Advisory, a financial advisory firm. "AI is in its beginning stages with massive potential impact."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

8 tech startup trends to watch in 2017

According to a set of intelligent humans interviewed for this story, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are going to help drive the tech economy in 2017.When CIO.com posted a query on Help a Reporter Out, a site designed to help journalists connect with sources, asking about startup trends to watch in 2017, the overwhelming majority of respondents pointed to AI. This coming year and beyond, AI will help companies "disrupt sectors that haven't been fully disrupted," says Anthony Glomski, principal of AG Asset Advisory, a financial advisory firm. "AI is in its beginning stages with massive potential impact."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

2017 security predictions

From W-2 scams to WordPress vulnerabilities, ransomware, business email compromises, DDos attacks and allegations of a hacked presidential election -- 2016's been a hell of a year in cybersecurity, and it's not over yet.There's no reason to believe 2017 will be any better. If anything, it could be even worse as cybercriminals continue to push social engineering, find new ways to deliver malware, crack vulnerable databases and leverage mobile technology to find ways to get inside corporate defenses and target individuals.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

2017 security predictions

From W-2 scams to WordPress vulnerabilities, ransomware, business email compromises, DDos attacks and allegations of a hacked presidential election -- 2016's been a hell of a year in cybersecurity, and it's not over yet.There's no reason to believe 2017 will be any better. If anything, it could be even worse as cybercriminals continue to push social engineering, find new ways to deliver malware, crack vulnerable databases and leverage mobile technology to find ways to get inside corporate defenses and target individuals.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Report: Most cybercriminals earn $1,000 to $3,000 a month

Most cybercriminals make between $1,000 and $3,000 a month, but 20 percent earn $20,000 a month or more, according to a recent report.The data is based on a survey conducted by a closed underground community, said report author Andrei Barysevich, director of advanced collection at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future."We actually saw criminals who made way more than that, $50,000 to $200,000 a month," he said. "This is what they keep, this is not revenues, but pure profit. This is what they can spend on loose women, fast cars and nice clothes."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Report: Most cybercriminals earn $1,000 to $3,000 a month

Most cybercriminals make between $1,000 and $3,000 a month, but 20 percent earn $20,000 a month or more, according to a recent report.The data is based on a survey conducted by a closed underground community, said report author Andrei Barysevich, director of advanced collection at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future."We actually saw criminals who made way more than that, $50,000 to $200,000 a month," he said. "This is what they keep, this is not revenues, but pure profit. This is what they can spend on loose women, fast cars and nice clothes."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Liveblog: Automating Cloud Mgmt and Deployment

This is a liveblog of the AWS re:Invent session titled “Automating Cloud Management and Deployment for a Diverse Enterprise Application Portfolio” (DEV319). The speakers for the session are David Lowry and Amul Merchant, both from Infor Global.

Merchant kicks the session off with a brief overview of Infor and its cloud strategy. Infor’s CEO, Charles Phillips, was quoted from AWS re:Invent 2014 as having said, “Friends don’t let friends build data centers.” Merchant spends a pretty fair amount of time (too much time, in my opinion) explaining Infor and Infor’s offerings, with only minimal references to how this affects or is affected by the core topic of the presentation. He makes numerous references to “the DevOps toolset” that Infor uses, but does not provide any details or information on said toolset. Instead, the information shared is far too basic for a 300-level session.

After 15 minutes, Lowry takes the stage to talk about the DevOps toolset. The key principles Infor used in building/selecting tools were:

• Automate end-to-end
• Use AWS services wherever possible (this ties the tools closely to AWS)
• Minimally Viable Product (MVP) first, then expand

Some of the tools Infor uses:

• Faro (more information on that in a Continue reading

5 apps to gamify your personal and work lives

Gamify your personal and work livesImage by ThinkstockIf you're struggling with motivation or productivity at work, the answer might lie in gamification. Gamification turns your boring to-do list, mundane chores or healthy habits into a role-playing (RPG) game where you can earn points, collect badges and level up. If you've ever used a fitness tracker, it's the same concept -- you can earn badges and rewards for your workouts and healthy lifestyle goals to help you stay motivated. PokemonGo, designed as an augmented reality game, even managed to gamify walking for a lot of players, with researchers at Stanford and Microsoft suggesting it helped significantly increase physical activity for users. Gamifying your life might be the answer to staying motivated, productive and to develop new habits; these five apps will help you make your everyday to-do list fun again. <A HREF="https://habitica.com/static/front" TITLE="Habitica website" TARGET="_blank">Habitica</A>Image by HabiticaTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

SIEMs-as-a-service addresses needs of small, midsize enterprises

The city of Lewiston, in north central Idaho, has a population of around 32,000 and an information systems budget of around $800,000 a year.But it wasn't too small for attackers. For example, the city council meetings, streamed online, were being watched by people in Russia."Why are they watching this?" said Danny Santiago, the city's information systems administrator.Then there were the phishing attempts."We are negotiating a $2 million contract for road work, and we had spearphishing attacks," he said. "Luckily it's a small town, and everyone knows everyone, so people called us."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

SIEMs-as-a-service addresses needs of small, midsize enterprises

The city of Lewiston, in north central Idaho, has a population of around 32,000 and an information systems budget of around $800,000 a year.But it wasn't too small for attackers. For example, the city council meetings, streamed online, were being watched by people in Russia."Why are they watching this?" said Danny Santiago, the city's information systems administrator.Then there were the phishing attempts."We are negotiating a $2 million contract for road work, and we had spearphishing attacks," he said. "Luckily it's a small town, and everyone knows everyone, so people called us."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HPE rolls out products to enable IoT adoption

Hewlett Packard Enterprise on Wednesday announced several software and hardware products to more securely manage the exploding universe of Internet of Things devices.October's Mirai botnet attack on unsecured IoT devices, which halted widespread access to dozens of popular internet sites, dramatizes the value of more comprehensive management and control of IoT, HPE executives said in interviews.Some of HPE's new products are intended for use by virtual cellular network providers, while others are for small and medium-sized enterprises to use in managing their local area network (LAN) operations.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HPE rolls out products to enable IoT adoption

Hewlett Packard Enterprise on Wednesday announced several software and hardware products to more securely manage the exploding universe of Internet of Things devices.October's Mirai botnet attack on unsecured IoT devices, which halted widespread access to dozens of popular internet sites, dramatizes the value of more comprehensive management and control of IoT, HPE executives said in interviews.Some of HPE's new products are intended for use by virtual cellular network providers, while others are for small and medium-sized enterprises to use in managing their local area network (LAN) operations.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

48% off iPhone 7 Secure-Fit Workout Arm Band and Protective Case Bundle – Deal Alert

This lightweight and ultra-comfortable band from Encased is designed to securely fit your iPhone 7 4.7" by simply clipping on & off the included iPhone case (2016 Slimfit edition case, by Encased), so you won't need to place it in and out of another case or sleeve for your workout. The band comes in several different color options, and is fully adjustable to fit all arm sizes up to 14". The highly reflective pattern provides nighttime jogging & running protection, and its unique design maintains full touchscreen and button functionality during your workout with 0% screen obstruction. Its typical list price of $34.99 has been reduced 48% to just $18 for both the band and iPhone 7 case combo. See the discounted workout band on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Comcast Becomes the First Cable Company to Join ONOS & CORD

It paid $500,000 to join the open source groups.

IDG Contributor Network: SecureAuth introduces another take on multi-factor authentication

SecureAuth is in the business of adaptive access control. What that means in plain (or at least more plain) English is that the company offers security solutions that balance strength with ease of use and that adapt to different use cases.An example of adaptive access control might be requiring a simple username and password for regular access, but requiring a higher level of authentication when the user (for example) logs in from another geography.+ Also on Network World: 5 trends shaking up multi-factor authentication + As data breaches have gained massive prominence in recent years, due in part to some celebrities' dual proclivities for poor password control and a penchant for naked selfies, the public has become increasingly aware of multi-factor authentication (MFA) a process that requires a subsequent authentication entry beyond simply username and password.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here