Meet Me at VMworld 2016?

VMworld is upon us, and if you’ve been to the conference before you know it can sometimes be challenging to catch up with folks. (If this is your first time, now you know it can sometimes be challenging to catch up with folks.) This post is an effort to help make it a bit easier if you’re interested in meeting up with me at VMworld.

In years past, I published my schedule so that others could see what sessions I was attending, find times we could meet, etc. Now that I’m a VMware employee, registering for sessions is not permitted (customers first, as it should be!). However, it may still be helpful to show my schedule, so I’m listing it below. You can also view a read-only version of my calendar here.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

6:00 pm to sometime - vBeers at Ri Ra Irish Pub

Sunday, August 28, 2016

1:30 pm to 3:15 pm - VMworld TAM Day Ask the Experts
5:00 pm to 7:30 pm - Welcome reception in the Solutions Exchange
7:30 pm to sometime - VMUG member party

Monday, August 29, 2016

7:45 am - Prayer time (see here)
9:00 am to Continue reading

This Android botnet relies on Twitter for its commands

Twitter users aren’t the only ones checking the microblogging service for important updates. Android malware is starting to do so, too.One maker of Android malware is using Twitter to communicate with infected smartphones, according to security firm ESET.The company discovered the feature in a malicious app called Android/Twitoor. It runs as a backdoor virus that can secretly install other malware on a phone.Typically, the makers of Android malware control their infected smartphones from servers. Commands sent from those servers can create a botnet of compromised phones and tell the malware on all the phones what to do.The makers of Android/Twitoor decided to use Twitter instead of servers to communicate with the infected phones. The malware routinely checks certain Twitter accounts and reads the encrypted posts to get its operating commands.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

This Android botnet relies on Twitter for its commands

Twitter users aren’t the only ones checking the microblogging service for important updates. Android malware is starting to do so, too.One maker of Android malware is using Twitter to communicate with infected smartphones, according to security firm ESET.The company discovered the feature in a malicious app called Android/Twitoor. It runs as a backdoor virus that can secretly install other malware on a phone.Typically, the makers of Android malware control their infected smartphones from servers. Commands sent from those servers can create a botnet of compromised phones and tell the malware on all the phones what to do.The makers of Android/Twitoor decided to use Twitter instead of servers to communicate with the infected phones. The malware routinely checks certain Twitter accounts and reads the encrypted posts to get its operating commands.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Linux at 25: A retrospective

What a long, strange 25 years it’s beenImage by Reuters: USA Today Sports/Baz Ratner, WikimediaFrom its obscure origins to its present primacy, Linux is now old enough to rent a car without having to pay extra for insurance. It has also been described as the “the greatest shared technology asset in history,” and it’s the chassis upon which a sizeable proportion of all the software on the planet is built. Here’s a quick look back at Linux’s history.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why are SD-WANs taking off? Because they are secure, affordable and easy to use

This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter’s approach.Software-defined Wide Area Networking is red hot.  It is safe to assume that, going forward, every multi-location business will rely on SD-WAN for a cost-effective, high-quality, unified network solution.In fact, IDC recently released a report predicting SD-WAN revenue will reach $6 billion in 2020. Why?  Because SD-WANs are secure, affordable and easy-to-use. Those three magic words are enough to turn any CEO’s head, and the benefits go well beyond that. SD-WANs address a confluence of issues that multi-location businesses are facing right now.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why are SD-WANs taking off? Because they are secure, affordable and easy to use

This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter’s approach.Software-defined Wide Area Networking is red hot.  It is safe to assume that, going forward, every multi-location business will rely on SD-WAN for a cost-effective, high-quality, unified network solution.In fact, IDC recently released a report predicting SD-WAN revenue will reach $6 billion in 2020. Why?  Because SD-WANs are secure, affordable and easy-to-use. Those three magic words are enough to turn any CEO’s head, and the benefits go well beyond that. SD-WANs address a confluence of issues that multi-location businesses are facing right now.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why are SD-WANs taking off? Because they are secure, affordable and easy to use

Security Sessions: The pitfalls of security awareness training

In the latest episode of Security Sessions, CSO Editor-in-Chief Joan Goodchild speaks with Bill Rosenthal, CEO of Logical Operations, about what's missing in many security awareness training programs that enterprises often deploy (if they're doing them at all).

55% off Akface Smart Wifi Power Plug – Deal Alert

This smart plug from Akface allows you to remotely turn appliances and electronics on or off from anywhere in the world. Perfect for household appliances, lamps, window a/c units, and more. After connecting this plug to your house's wifi, you can easily control on/off, program the plug to follow an on/off schedule, and more. Currently averaging 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon (read reviews), the typical list price of $50.99 has been reduced 55% to $22.89. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

When your government hacks you

There was a time when Cisco routers were unstoppable, and their deviations into proprietary protocols and constructions were accepted because Cisco could do no wrong. They were the smartest kids in networking protocols.But there is a crack in their armor, a glitch in the Teflon. Cisco may not be the only networking infrastructure vendor to now face an attack ostensibly from their own government, just the largest.Just as the U.S. government has taken Huwaei to task for an accusation of hidden code benefiting the Chinese government, other governments across the planet now know that their Cisco infrastructure can be cracked open—and no, it’s not easy, and requires an additional step of having hacked in from some place else.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

When your government hacks you

There was a time when Cisco routers were unstoppable, and their deviations into proprietary protocols and constructions were accepted because Cisco could do no wrong. They were the smartest kids in networking protocols.But there is a crack in their armor, a glitch in the Teflon. Cisco may not be the only networking infrastructure vendor to now face an attack ostensibly from their own government, just the largest.Just as the U.S. government has taken Huwaei to task for an accusation of hidden code benefiting the Chinese government, other governments across the planet now know that their Cisco infrastructure can be cracked open—and no, it’s not easy, and requires an additional step of having hacked in from some place else.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: One old guy’s advice

Having grown in my career since college, I have learned many lessons. I started out in computers back in 1986, at the precipice of the “Clone” era. I cut my teeth and my hands by installing chips on memory cards and motherboards, replacing 5.25” floppy discs, and dealing with the jumble of cables on Dual 5MB Winchester hard drives that cost and weighed an arm and a leg. —virtually tied to my desktop

The post Worth Reading: One old guy’s advice appeared first on 'net work.

No Sleep ‘Til (Ansible Contributor Summit) Brooklyn!

HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF ANSIBLE

 Are you a contributor to Ansible, or interested in becoming a contributor to Ansible?

Ansible's third Contributor Summit is coming soon, offering contributors the opportunity to participate in and shape the future of Ansible. We'll be gathering October 10, 2016 in Brooklyn, the day before AnsibleFest Brooklyn 2016, to collaborate and plan around a variety of Ansible-related topics. Your feedback and presence are welcomed. Read on to find out how you can join us!

ANSIBLE CONTRIBUTOR SUMMIT, ROUND THREE!

Inside the Manycore Research Chip That Could Power Future Clouds

For those interested in novel architectures for large-scale datacenters and complex computing domains, this year has offered plenty of fodder for exploration.

From a rise in custom ASICs to power next generation deep learning, to variations on FPGAs, DSPs, and ARM processor cores, and advancements in low-power processors for webscale datacenters, it is clear that the Moore’s Law death knell is clanging loud enough to spur faster, more voluminous action.

At the Hot Chips conference this week, we analyzed the rollout of a number of new architectures (more on the way as the week unfolds), but one that definitely grabbed …

Inside the Manycore Research Chip That Could Power Future Clouds was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

Cisco vs. Arista: Shades of Gray

Yesterday was D-Day for Arista in their fight with Cisco over the SysDB patent. I’ve covered this a bit for Network Computing in the past, but I wanted to cover some new things here and put a bit more opinion into my thoughts.

Cisco Designates The Competition

As the great Stephen Foskett (@SFoskett) says, you always have to punch above your weight. When you are a large company, any attempt to pick on the “little guy” looks bad. When you’re at the top of the market it’s even tougher. If you attempt to fight back against anyone you’re going to legitimize them in the eye of everyone else wanting to take a shot at you.

Cisco has effectively designated Arista as their number one competitor by way of this lawsuit. Arista represents a larger threat that HPE, Brocade, or Juniper. Yes, I agree that it is easy to argue that the infringement constituted a material problem to their business. But at the same time, Cisco very publicly just said that Arista is causing a problem for Cisco. Enough of a problem that Cisco is going to take them to court. Not make Arista license the patent. That’s telling.

Continue reading

Google is using AI to compress images better than JPEG

Small is beautiful, as the old saying goes, and nowhere is that more true than in media files. Compressed images are considerably easier to transmit and store than uncompressed ones are, and now Google is using neural networks to beat JPEG at the compression game.Google began by taking a random sample of 6 million 1280×720 images on the web. It then broke those down into nonoverlapping 32×32 tiles and zeroed in on 100 of those with the worst compression ratios. The goal there, essentially, was to focus on improving performance on the "hardest-to-compress" data, because it's bound to be easier to succeed on the rest.The researchers then used the TensorFlow machine-learning system Google open-sourced last year to train a set of experimental neural network architectures. They used one million steps to train them and then collected a series of technical metrics to find which training models produced the best-compressed results.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Platform9 & ZeroStack Make OpenStack a Little More VMware-Friendly

High availability is highly desirable.

Hackers tap vBulletin vulnerability to break into 27 million more accounts

A vulnerability in a widely-used internet forum software is becoming a go-to method for hackers to steal data.Hackers recently targeted 11 different sites, many of them from Russia, and stole information from more 27 million Internet accounts, according to LeakedSource, a repository for data breaches.  About 25 million accounts of those accounts were from cfire.mail.ru, parapa.mail.ru, and tanks.mail.ru, all of them Russian language games. Another 1 million were tied to gaming titles from Funcom, including The Secret World and Age of Conan. The stolen data includes email addresses and hashed passwords that can be easily cracked.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers tap vBulletin vulnerability to break into 27 million more accounts

A vulnerability in a widely-used internet forum software is becoming a go-to method for hackers to steal data.Hackers recently targeted 11 different sites, many of them from Russia, and stole information from more 27 million Internet accounts, according to LeakedSource, a repository for data breaches.  About 25 million accounts of those accounts were from cfire.mail.ru, parapa.mail.ru, and tanks.mail.ru, all of them Russian language games. Another 1 million were tied to gaming titles from Funcom, including The Secret World and Age of Conan. The stolen data includes email addresses and hashed passwords that can be easily cracked.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft reveals the chip behind HoloLens

Microsoft has talked up its well-regarded virtual reality headset called HoloLens, but has been a little stingy on some technical details, such as what's powering the device.However, it finally took the wraps off that mystery at an appropriate show. Microsoft detailed for the first time its custom CPU for HoloLens at Hot Chips, an annual semiconductor conference held at Stanford University every August.Hot Chips is a great show, and I miss attending it even more than IDF, since a variety of chip vendors show up to talk. Between the extreme technical detail from Ph.D. engineers and some brutal accents, it requires your full attention, but that's not a hard thing to do because the insights are often fascinating.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here