NASA’s Skylab marks 42nd anniversary of last space mission

The month marks the 42 anniversary of the last manned occupation of the US’ first big attempt to live in outer space – Skylab.+History in pictures: Skylab: NASA's first space station marks 40 years+Launched on May 14, 1973, the Skylab saw three crewed manned missions—the last being concluded in February 1974. In terms of technology the lab was pretty advanced for the time. According to IBM, two Big Blue computers controlled the orientation of the laboratory throughout the mission. The onboard computers, which were arranged redundantly, were models of IBM's System/4Pi, a computer designed for the special weight and environmental requirements of aerospace applications. Each of the IBM computers aboard Skylab weighed 100 pounds and measured 19 by 7.3 by 31.8 inches. They were capable of handling more than 100 signals to Skylab attitude control equipment, IBM says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Algorithm developed to predict future botnet attacks

Six botnets have been discovered and traced back to their perpetrators by an algorithm produced by researchers at Israel's Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev. The scientists who built the formula say it will allow law enforcement to trace administrators responsible for future attacks.The key to the work is analyzing data produced by previous attacks, the cybersecurity researchers say.Malicious botnets are groups of Internet-connected computers that have been secretly compromised to forward traffic to other computers. Payloads can include spam and viruses. The PCs can become remote controlled and also proffer private information.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Spectrum 101

A tremendous amount of ink has been ‘shed’ over the last 3+ years debating the various technical proposals for LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum (Ruckus has certainly weighed in when we’ve had something worthwhile to say). But maybe it’s time...

Report examines the massive future cybersecurity problem of connected cars

If you are interested in the Internet of insecure Things, then you might like a new report which looks at the cybersecurity of connected vehicles, calling it "one of the biggest issues facing manufacturers today." Cyber Security in the Connected Vehicle attributed that threat to complexity, connectivity, and content. There's a "massive future security problem just around the corner," and it can't be fixed by trying to bolt on security during the implementation phase.Complexity was called "the worst enemy of security," as a connected car could have "approximately 100 million lines of code," compared to 8 million for an F-35 fighter jet. There has been a dramatic increase in Electronic Computing Units, with some high-end vehicles currently having about 100 ECUs. There has also been a rise in the diversity of in-vehicle systems which provide both luxury and critical features.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Webinar Q&A: Docker Basics – Orchestration

As the need for greater agility and portability drives the growth of containerization within enterprises world-wide, container orchestration tools have become increasingly important. With multiple nodes running multiple containers, enterprises now need a way to manage and deploy containers at … Continued

Webinar Q&A: Docker Basics – Orchestration

As the need for greater agility and portability drives the growth of containerization within enterprises world-wide, container orchestration tools have become increasingly important. With multiple nodes running multiple containers, enterprises now need a way to manage and deploy containers at … Continued

Cybercriminals adopt spies’ techniques to pull off online bank heists

The times when stealthy, persistent and advanced malware was associated only with cyberespionage are gone. Criminals are now using similar threats and techniques to steal millions of dollars from financial institutions.Last year researchers from security vendor Kaspersky Lab were called in to investigate unusual thefts from 29 banks and other organizations located in Russia, leading to the discovery of three new sophisticated attack campaigns. Their findings were presented Monday during the company's annual Security Analyst Summit.One group of attackers is using a modular malware program known as Metel or Corkow to infect computer systems belonging to banks and to reverse ATM transactions. During a single night, the gang stole millions of rubles from a Russian bank using this hard-to-detect transaction rollback trick.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

What’s Next? The NFL’s Magic Yellow Line Shows the Way to Augmented Reality

 

What’s next? Mobile is entering its comforting middle age period of development. Conversational commerce is a thing, a good thing, but is it really a great thing?

What’s next may be what has been next for decades: Augmented reality (AR) (and VR). AR systems will be here sooner than you might think. A matter of years, not decades. Robert Scoble, for example, thinks Meta, an early startup in AR industry, will be bigger than the Macintosh. More on that in a later post. Magic Leap has no product and $1.3 billion in funding. Facebook has Oculus. Microsoft has HoloLens. Google may be releasing a VR system later this year. Apple is working on VR. Becoming the next iPhone is up for grabs.

AR is a Huge Opportunity for Programmers and Startups 

This is a technological revolution that will be bigger than mobile. Opportunities in mobile for developers have largely played out. Experience shows the earlier you get in on a revolution the better the opportunity will be. Do you want to be writing free iOS apps forever?

It’s so early we don’t really have an idea what AR is or what the market will be Continue reading

Worth Reading: Should Firewalls Track Sequence Numbers?

Firewalls that include application level gateways (example: FTP command session inspection), web application firewalls (including stuff marketed as next-generation whatever) or any other devices that performs deep packet inspection have to include full-blown TCP stack including retransmissions, packet reordering and IP fragment reassembly. A device that doesn’t do all of the above will eventually be spoofed (aka Fernando Gont will eventually get you with the right sequence of extension headers).

The post Worth Reading: Should Firewalls Track Sequence Numbers? appeared first on 'net work.

In defense of assuming another’s identity

My father, Burke McNamara, passed away back in December at age 89 after a long period of declining health.As I continue to deal with the closing of his financial affairs, I’d like to offer this bit advice to all of you: If you're ever in the unfortunate position of having to close accounts, such as a VISA account, for a family member who has died, do not under any circumstances approach the task in an honest and straightforward manner.Lie to them.Call the help desk and assume the identity of the loved one who has passed. Cancel the account. Simple, done. Otherwise, if you tell them the truth, stupid-ass companies, such as VISA, will tell you that they require you to send them a copy of the (expletive deleted) death certificate.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Beyond Open Standards

Traditionally, open standards organizations (particularly the IETF) have been populated by vendors selling software embedded in hardware. What happens to open standards when the software is separated from the software through a trend like NFV? Does this mean the end of open standards? As we are currently moving towards disaggregation at LinkedIn, the relationship between open standards and the disaggregation process has become for me a matter that requires some serious thought. -via network computing

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The post Worth Reading: Beyond Open Standards appeared first on 'net work.

Java installer flaw shows why you should clear your Downloads folder

On most computers, the default download folder quickly becomes a repository of old and unorganized files that were opened once and then forgotten about. A recently fixed flaw in the Java installer highlights why keeping this folder clean is important.On Friday, Oracle published a security advisory recommending that users delete all the Java installers they might have laying around on their computers and use new ones for versions 6u113, 7u97, 8u73 or later.The reason is that older Java installers are designed to look for and automatically load a number of specifically named DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files from the current directory. In the case of Java installers downloaded from the Web, the current directory is typically the computer's default download folder.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cultivate questions

Imagine that you’re sitting in a room interviewing a potential candidate for a position on your team. It’s not too hard to imagine, right, because it happens all the time. You know the next question I’m going to ask: what questions will you ask this candidate? I know a lot of people who have “set questions” they use to evaluate a candidate, such as “what is the OSPF type four for,” or “why do some states in the BGP peering session not have corresponding packets?” Since I’ve worked on certifications in the past (like the CCDE), I understand the value of these sorts of questions. They pinpoint the set and scope of the candidate’s knowledge, and they’re easy to grade. But is easy to grade what we should really be after?

Let me expand the scope a little: isn’t this the way we see our own careers? The engineer with the most bits of knowledge stuffed away when they die wins? I probably need to make a sign that says that, actually, just to highlight the humor of such a thought.

The problem is it simply isn’t a good way to measure an engineer, including the engineer reading this Continue reading

Report: Hackers steal, post details on 9,000 DHS employees

A hacker posted the names, phone numbers and other details about 9,000 Department of Homeland Security employees and says he will post 20,000 similar records about FBI workers. He claims to have records that include military emails and credit card numbers, according to a published report.Today the hacker posted the details on Twitter along with a screenshot of a warning page allegedly from a Department of Justice computer (shown above).Motherboard writer Joseph Cox writes that Sunday he received the stolen personal data, some of which came from a single Department of Justice computer hacked using a compromised email account and social engineering.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Four mindblowing Ted Talks for techies

One of the biggest challenges for any tech professional is keeping up with change. But sometimes you’re so focused of advances that affect your particular job, industry or strategic goals that you lose sight of the bigger picture.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

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