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Adapting Applications And Avoiding Acrobatic Adjustments

A couple of months ago, I was on a panel at TechUnplugged where we talked about scaling systems to large sizes. Here’s a link to the video of that panel:

One of the things that we discussed in that panel was applications. Toward the end of the discussion we got into a bit of a back-and-forth about applications and the systems they run on. I feel like it’s time to develop those ideas a bit more.

The Achilles’ Heel

My comments about legacy applications are pointed. If a company is spending thousands of dollars and multiples hours of time in the engineering team to reconfigure the network or the storage systems to support an old application, my response was simple: go out of business.

It does sound a bit flippant to think that a company making a profit should just close the shutters and walk away. But that’s just the problem that we’re facing in the market today. We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time creating bespoke, custom networks and systems to support applications that were written years, or even decades, ago in alien environments.

We do it every day without thinking. We have to install this specific Java version Continue reading

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Microsoft, Samba Badlock flaw not critical, but serious enough

Microsoft and the Samba project fixed a vulnerability in their implementation of the SMB/CIFS protocol after the flaw was initially announced three weeks ago under the name Badlock.The vulnerability, covered by Microsoft in its MS16-047 security bulletin published Tuesday, was also fixed in Samba 4.4.2, 4.3.8 and 4.2.11. It could allow a man-in-the-middle attacker to impersonate an authenticated user and execute arbitrary network calls to the server, possibly with administrative privileges.Badlock's existence was announced on March 22 by a company called SerNet, which  offers Samba consulting, support and development services. It employs the person who found the flaw: a Samba development team member named Stefan Metzmacher.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Microsoft, Samba Badlock flaw not critical, but serious enough

Microsoft and the Samba project fixed a vulnerability in their implementation of the SMB/CIFS protocol after the flaw was initially announced three weeks ago under the name Badlock. The vulnerability, covered by Microsoft in its MS16-047 security bulletin published Tuesday, was also fixed in Samba 4.4.2, 4.3.8 and 4.2.11. It could allow a man-in-the-middle attacker to impersonate an authenticated user and execute arbitrary network calls to the server, possibly with administrative privileges. Badlock's existence was announced on March 22 by a company called SerNet, which  offers Samba consulting, support and development services. It employs the person who found the flaw: a Samba development team member named Stefan Metzmacher.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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63% Off Etekcity Digital Infrared Thermometer Temperature Gun – Deal Alert

There are some things you just don't need -- until the price plummets to $25 and then you can't grab your wallet fast enough. The Etekcity Lasergrip 630 Digital Infrared Thermometer Temperature Gun uses dual lasers to instantly measure the temperature of almost anything you can shoot it at. List price is $70, but with the current 63% off deal you can snag it for just $25.99. The gun gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 200 reviewers (read reviews). Check electrical components, oven & fridge temps, check for drafts, find a frozen pipe, see if your beer is cold enough (because you can, that's why) -- at $25 it might pay for itself in just a few hours of wandering around the house. The Lasergrip 630 has a measurable range of -58F to 1,076F (can display in celsius as well) and is powered by a 9-volt battery. If you've always wanted to check temps with lasers, see this heavily discounted item now at Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Privacy regulators: Commission ‘could do better’ on Privacy Shield

The Privacy Shield trans-Atlantic data transfer arrangement is better than its predecessor, Safe Harbor, but still not good enough, European Union data protection authorities said Wednesday.They want the European Commission improve the deal it has negotiated with U.S. authorities to ensure that EU citizens' personal information receives privacy protection equivalent to that of EU law when it is exported to the U.S.The authorities have been examining Privacy Shield since it was unveiled in February, and announced the results of their study Wednesday.The deal is too complex, they say, as it is composed of a collection of legal instruments, letters and annexes rather than a single, easily understandable document.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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EU privacy regulators: Commission ‘could do better’ on Privacy Shield

The Privacy Shield trans-Atlantic data transfer arrangement is better than its predecessor, Safe Harbor, but still not good enough, European Union data protection authorities said Wednesday. They want the European Commission improve the deal it has negotiated with U.S. authorities to ensure that EU citizens' personal information receives privacy protection equivalent to that of EU law when it is exported to the U.S. The authorities have been examining Privacy Shield since it was unveiled in February, and announced the results of their study Wednesday. The deal is too complex, they say, as it is composed of a collection of legal instruments, letters and annexes rather than a single, easily understandable document.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Microsoft will add QR codes to Windows 10 crashes

Windows 10 is an ultra-modern piece of software, an operating system written for the cloud generation, right? Well, not so fast. A new form of error reporting uses a mobile technology that’s been declared dead.Windows has never been particularly helpful in saying why your computer crashed. Even the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) in Windows 10 doesn’t tell you much. And the large sad face emoticon doesn’t exactly help, does it?It’s almost comical that they tell you the error code, like “KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR” or “HAL_INITIALIZATION_FAILED” and then tell you to look it up after you reboot. And good luck finding any useful information.INSIDER Review: Enterprise guide to Windows 10 So, what is Microsoft’s solution? A QR code. Yes, a QR code, that dead technology from mobile phones. It was supposed to be a way to rapidly look up info on items in retail outlets or get info from other sources, but it never got any traction. For some time now, QR codes have long been considered dead in the water.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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What happened next: the deprecation of ANY

Almost a year ago, we announced that we were going to stop answering DNS ANY queries. We were prompted by a number of factors:

1. The lack of legitimate ANY use.

2. The abundance of malicious ANY use.

3. The constant use of ANY queries in large DNS amplification DDoS attacks.

Additionally, we were about to launch Universal DNSSEC, and we could foresee the high cost of assembling ANY answers and providing DNSSEC-on-the-fly for those answers, especially when most of the time, those ANY answers were for malicious, illegitimate, clients.

Although we usually make a tremendous effort to maintain backwards compatibility across Internet protocols (recently, for example, continuing to support SHA-1-based SSL certificates), it was clear to us that the DNS ANY query was something that was better removed from the Internet than maintained for general use.

Our proposal at the time was to return an ERROR code to the querier telling them that ANY was not supported, and this sparked a robust discussion in the DNS protocol community. In this blog post, we’ll cover what has happened and what our final plan is.

Just before we published our blog a popular software started using ANY queries, to get all address Continue reading

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The Four Element Sword Engagement

Ongoing APT activity against Tibetans, Hong Kong and Taiwanese interests In “The Four Element Sword Engagement (Full Report)”, Arbor ASERT reveals recent ongoing APT activity likely associated with long-running threat campaigns against Tibetans, Hong Kong, Taiwanese interests and human rights workers. We presume the existence of associated malcode, dubbed the Four Element Sword Builder, which […]

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Concept Data Tower Scrapes The Sky For Efficiency

We talk about architecture all the time when discussing systems, but when it comes to the datacenters that house these machines, the shells are about as exciting as a monstrous warehouse for a massive distribution operation. Considering that data and processing are the most profitable products on the planet these days, maybe this is suitable and fitting, but another way to look at it is that datacenters should not only be marvels of engineering but also inspiring structures like other kinds of buildings.

Every year, the architecture magazine Evolo hosts a skyscraper design competition so that architects can let their …

Concept Data Tower Scrapes The Sky For Efficiency was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.

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Know Your Virtual Workloads: Reads/Writes & Access Patterns

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Verizon to replace copper with fiber optic Internet in Boston

Verizon and the city of Boston today announced a $300 million fiber optic cable replacement of copper cable throughout the city over the next six years.The project will increase Internet speeds and help Boston, which has 650,000 residents, expand broadband as part of its priority to ensure every resident has Internet access, Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement on Tuesday. Business, schools, hospitals and libraries will also be connected.Smart city elements will be added as well, including a trial project to reduce traffic congestion along Massachusetts Avenue. The city and Verizon will partner to experiment with sensors and advanced traffic signal technology to increase safety, measure bike traffic and improve public transit vehicle flow.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Verizon to replace copper with fiber optic Internet in Boston

Verizon and the city of Boston today announced a $300 million fiber optic cable replacement of copper cable throughout the city over the next six years.The project will increase Internet speeds and help Boston, which has 650,000 residents, expand broadband as part of its priority to ensure every resident has Internet access, Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement on Tuesday. Business, schools, hospitals and libraries will also be connected.Smart city elements will be added as well, including a trial project to reduce traffic congestion along Massachusetts Avenue. The city and Verizon will partner to experiment with sensors and advanced traffic signal technology to increase safety, measure bike traffic and improve public transit vehicle flow.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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U.S. gets 236,000 H-1B petitions, a new record

The U.S. received 236,000 H-1B petitions for 85,000 visas available under the program's visa caps, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said Tuesday.The visas are being distributed via a lottery, which means only about one in every three petitions will be approved.The U.S. received 233,000 H-1B visa petitions last year, the previous record. The U.S. accepts visas on April 1 for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.If history is any guide, a majority of the demand for the visa is coming from IT services, offshore outsourcing firms.INSIDER: Network jobs are hot: Salaries expected to rise in 2016 Critics believe the high number of visas represents a form of "ballot box" stuffing by IT services firms in response to the lottery system. Applicants can apply for a visa for someone who is not an employee.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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10 simple tools for building mobile apps fast

No-code and low-code mobile dev toolsWhile the great debate rages on between the various mobile development camps -- the pure HTML5/JavaScript/CSS3 mobile Web faction, the native code purists, and the hybrid mobile app fans -- businesses still have to create and maintain mobile applications for their employees, business partners, and customers. The one conclusion that everyone seems to reach, eventually, is that there is no single panacea in this space. Each approach and toolset has its advantages and drawbacks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Chief Risk Officers needed to battle rising corporate espionage

A growing number of organizations are adding a new member to the C-suite—the chief risk officer (CRO)—and the rise of these executives is having a direct impact on the security programs at enterprises.“Corporate espionage, terrorism and cyber attacks are ratcheting up the need for senior executives who understand all aspects of risk management and security,” says Jeremy King, president of Benchmark Executive Search, a provider of technology executive search services.INSIDER 12 habits of successful tech CEO “Many companies are finally awakening to how destructive security breaches of all types can be—from physical damage and real costs to reputation loss and customer recovery,” King says. “Previously siloed risk-management functions must be reinvented, strengthened, and funded more aggressively. Industry must re-evaluate its approach to risk management, and success will require unprecedented cooperation from board directors and those in the C-suite.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Will companies trust their communications to A.I. chatbots?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook says chatbots will change the way businesses communicate with their customers, but will businesses want to put their user communications in the hands of artificial intelligence?"They're a powerful tool but they're also a big risk," said Brian Blau, an analyst with Gartner. "A.I. can be a very powerful technology. Businesses are going to have to understand how to harness that power. There are reasons to be worried about it. Because we're giving chatbots the power to act on our behalf, they're taking on greater importance."Blau said he expects businesses will trust chatbots eventually, but that it will be a "measured adoption" since brands are always concerned about their perception in the marketplace.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Review: 4 mid-priced laptops that mean business

Every day an army of business people heads out to offices, meetings and coffee shops, equipped with little more than a smartphone and a laptop. To get the job done, that laptop has to be secure enough to protect sensitive data, rugged enough to bounce around in a backpack, and with enough battery power and performance strength to get through a day of presentations, emails and online chats. All without busting the company budget. Welcome to the world of mid-priced Windows laptops. According to Linn Huang, research director for devices & displays at IDC, today's typical business systems are far from the high-end, high-cost ultraportables and 2-in-1s that usually get media attention.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Power Shell is a powerful malware tool

PowerShell used as a tool in compound malware attacks is becoming more common, with 38% of all attacks seen by IT security vendor CarbonBlack and its partners involving the native Windows scripting language. Ben Johnson Its use is so common in enterprises for legitimate purposes that most security devices and personnel don’t regard it as a threat, says Ben Johnson, the chief security strategist at CarbonBlack.That makes it all the more effective as a component of attacks. Its scripts can run in memory only so it never creates a file on disk, Johnson says. “It creates less noise on the system,” so it’s less likely to draw attention to itself, he adds.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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Power Shell is a powerful malware tool

PowerShell used as a tool in compound malware attacks is becoming more common, with 38% of all attacks seen by IT security vendor CarbonBlack and its partners involving the native Windows scripting language. Ben Johnson Its use is so common in enterprises for legitimate purposes that most security devices and personnel don’t regard it as a threat, says Ben Johnson, the chief security strategist at CarbonBlack.That makes it all the more effective as a component of attacks. Its scripts can run in memory only so it never creates a file on disk, Johnson says. “It creates less noise on the system,” so it’s less likely to draw attention to itself, he adds.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here