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America is at risk of falling behind in the digital world. A new report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center (the creators of Sesame Street), Rutgers University and New America notes that middle and low income families aren't keeping up when it comes to computers, broadband, Wi-Fi and Internet access in the U.S.
While 94 percent of the U.S. public is connected and 91 percent of the poor have Internet access, the researchers conclude that there's a growing problem with citizens being "under-connected." In many cases, this translates into a single Internet-connected computer or smartphone in the household or slow service.
All of this makes it more difficult for adults to conduct business or obtain health and medical information. Yet it also impacts children and their ability to learn. Vikki Katz, a Rutgers University scholar and co-author of the study, notes that poor connectivity impacts "the kinds of things that help families get by and the kinds of things that help families get ahead."
Although many initially viewed the Internet as a way to span the so-called digital divide and raise education and income levels, it's increasingly clear that today's broadband is more like a frayed rope bridge straddling a deep canyon. Knowledge and skills shortages are now a chronic problem for U.S. businesses looking to compete in the digital economy -- and IT is often at the center of this troubling equation.
Yet it isn't only the poor who are taking a hit. The U.S. now ranks 24th in Internet speed worldwide, according to content delivery network firm Akamai. Incredibly, Bulgaria, Romania and Latvia rank higher. And let's not even delve into rural areas of the U.S., where broadband is still nothing more than a pipe dream. Although the FCC's Connect America Fund program is moving forward, it alone cannot solve the problem.
Amid a deeply divisive political environment, Congress and states need to focus on how to expand broadband access to all so that the underserved don't wind up becoming the completely disenfranchised. In addition, industry needs to think about how it can play a role in supporting and building out broadband—including boosting speeds to keep the U.S. competitive. Kudos to Google and its Fiber project, which is already rolling out free fast Internet connectivity to those living in low-income households.
Here's the deal: a lack of investment in broadband now will very likely translate into a diminished ability to compete (and far fewer customers) in the not-too-distant future. | <urn:uuid:cebb4401-f068-4449-aec6-f0bd50877ec1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.cioupdate.com/technology-trends/falling-into-the-digital-divide.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00346-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959605 | 515 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Additional diesel is delivered by drop trailers and iso tanks; however, these vehicles need to be able to reach the delivery site. In the cases of extreme flooding, even when having a preferred contract, the issue of getting the fuel to the data center can be an issue. That’s a particular challenge in Lower Manhattan, where tunnel access is limited and some roadways remain flooded or are blocked by stranded vehicles.
Hidden Threat: Fuel Contamination
While the supply of fuel is the most critical consideration, another unforeseen problem is fuel contamination. Diesel reserves often sit for long periods of time, which is the opposite of the optimal scenario, in which diesel fuel is used within two to three weeks of leaving the refinery. Because of this, oil companies are not compelled to produce a diesel fuel meant for long-term storage.
Due to tighter regulation and economic concerns, fuel is becoming more unstable and contaminable, industry sources say. Should a disaster strike, there is a chance that diesel reserves are old, leading to premature shutdown of generators. For this reason, data center providers should test fuel samples on an annual basis, and refresh their reserves to prevent this. There are also treatments, such as adding biocides to control microbial growth, chemical additives, and filtering to remove water and sediment that builds up over time.
The NFPA 110 refers to diesel fuel “storage life” of 1.5 to 2 years. “Tanks should be sized so that the fuel is consumed within the storage life, or provision should be made to replace stale fuel with fresh fuel,” the standard recommends. The current refining process means that an even more conservative standard might be needed.
An additional precaution is testing the generators on a regular basis to see if they can handle the load at partial and/or full capacity. The generator itself needs to be brought to full load on a regular basis to prevent damage to it. While testing is integral, there have been issues in the past stemming from failed testing.
So data center providers need complex backup power systems including massive diesel generators, intelligent diesel fuel management and reserves on site, and priority service contracts. Even then, some problems can’t be avoided – especially if your generators are in the basement in a flood zone.
Pages: 1 2 | <urn:uuid:5c55f392-1918-4a47-be5b-f99097f4ed55> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/10/31/diesel-the-lifeblood-of-the-recovery-effort/2/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00346-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947385 | 464 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Experts at St Andrews University in Scotland have begun using IoT in a bid to learn why seal populations are in decline.
The Sea Mammal Research Unit, which is based at the university, was asked by the Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage to investigate the decline of the seal.
There are two seal species in the UK, and Harbour seals are most at risk. It’s believed that they’ve declined by 90 percent in areas around the north and east coast of Scotland.
The study will see scientists add telemetric tags to a number of seals, which will provide information on their whereabouts, behaviour and the ocean. This data will be fed back to the unit via Vodafone’s M2M network.
These tags – which work in much the same way as smartphones – won’t pose any danger to the seals, as they’re being attached to the fur on the back of their heads and will fall off when they moult. They can survive up to 200 metres beneath the ocean surface.
The researchers will able to analyse data as it’s collected and also explore the impact humans are having on the environment. This information will help the government when it comes to setting out appropriate policies.
Dr Bernie McConnell, deputy director of the SMRU, said: “Over the last 15 years, many of the harbour seal populations in the Northern Isles and on the north and east coasts of Scotland have been declining.
“Marine data collected during this project on Orkney will help to assess the causes, management and mitigation options in relation to the harbour seals decline and to prioritise future research directions.”
IoT in agriculture
Nick Finch, technical director at data analytics firm Concentra, says he is amazed at the things IoT can do when it comes to animals.
He told Internet of Business: “Everyone in IT is talking about the Internet of Things (IoT). It has the potential to help organisations react quickly – even in real time – to events or factors that might impact businesses.
“But who would have thought that the IoT could impact anything, including the artificial insemination of cows?
“The ‘Connected Cow’ is a project where Microsoft, in partnership with Fujitsu, used activity trackers on cows to determine when female cows go into estrus and are ready to mate.
“The data generated by the ‘fitbits for cows’ was analysed to determine when a cow was ready for artificial insemination, with an impressive 95 percent accuracy rate. The project improved calf production by up to 31 percent, with an average of 12 percent across selected farms.” | <urn:uuid:f77f8d8d-6449-45a9-985f-0ea5eab09662> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://internetofbusiness.com/scottish-experts-save-seals-iot/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00282-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950624 | 555 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Sound can be an effective method to communicate with users. For example, users are more likely to notice a notification if you add a sound effect to it, especially if they are not looking at their BlackBerry device when they receive the notification.
Users can use sound profiles to specify whether their BlackBerry device uses sound to notify them of events such as calendar reminders or incoming calls. Users can change the sound profiles that are preloaded on their BlackBerry device, or they can create new ones. Users can also use sound profiles to change their ring tone or adjust the volume for notification.
In your application, you can use sound for
- notification (for example, using sound to notify users when new messages arrive)
- feedback (for example, as users adjust the volume of a ring tone, the BlackBerry device plays the ring tone at the selected volume to demonstrate the volume level)
- branding (for example, playing a branded sound as your application starts)
- entertainment (for example, using sound in a game to entertain users and enhance their experience)
Best practice: Implementing sound
- Use sound judiciously. Sound demands attention and is hard to ignore. When in doubt, do not use sound.
- Consider your users before adding sound to your application. If you add sound, choose a volume, duration, and frequency that is appropriate for your users.
- Allow users to control sound using their sound profiles.
- Use sounds that are the same volume as other sounds on the BlackBerry device.
- Create notification tones that are audible from a distance. Notification tones should attract users' attention, even when they are not using their BlackBerry device.
- Use low frequency sounds and avoid piercing sounds.
- Avoid using distracting sounds such as frequent, loud, or jarring sounds. Distracting sound should only be used to inform users of useful notifications and feedback.
- Avoid using sound as the only form of communication. Users might not hear a sound because of a hearing impairment, loss of hearing, or a noisy environment. Use sound with other notification methods such as vibration or a flashing LED indicator.
- Avoid using sound that requires localization. Sounds can have different meanings in different cultures. If possible, avoid sounds that are culturally specific. | <urn:uuid:130a6910-13d8-4f57-acfc-c33ffcf01433> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://developer.blackberry.com/design/bb7/sound_2_0_514464_11.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00520-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.887487 | 455 | 2.96875 | 3 |
What you need to know about Heartbleed
Vendors and site administrators are scrambling to close the gaping hole opened by Heartbleed, a remotely-exploitable bug in the OpenSSL crypto library widely used to enable TLS sessions. But Heartbleed doesn’t just affect web servers. Given pervasive use of OpenSSL in a broad array of networking products and the two-year existence of this TLS implementation bug, Heartbleed’s attack surface and potential impact are very significant.
What is Heartbleed?
Heartbleed refers to a vulnerability recently discovered in the Transport Layer Security (TLS) heartbeat protocol implementation contained in OpenSSL. When a TLS server using a vulnerable version of OpenSSL (1.0.1 to 1.0.1f) receives a Heartbeat Extension message that has been crafted to cause buffer over-read, the server responds with up to 64 KB of random memory content.
According to CVE-2014-0160, heartbeat responses have been observed to contain sensitive data, including server certificate private keys, TLS session keys, user logins/passwords, and message contents. An attacker could send many heartbeat requests to harvest a significant portion of a server’s memory without raising suspicion. The request is encrypted and not logged by OpenSSL. However, it might be possible for an IPS to detect/block excessively frequent and lengthy TLS heartbeat responses.
More information about the Heartbleed bug, affected versions of OpenSSL, and fixes can be found here:
Why should I care about Heartbleed?
The damage potentially done by Heartbleed is extensive, in part because TLS servers and clients process quite a bit of sensitive information with potentially long-lasting utility to attackers.
For example, if Heartbleed were used to harvest primary keying material associated with an X.509 server certificate, that certificate can no longer be trusted for server authentication. Renewing the certificate does not mitigate this risk – the certificate must be revoked, reissued, and reinstalled.
If Heartbleed were used to harvest administrative passwords, or user credentials sent over a TLS-encrypted session, those stolen credentials could be used to compromise user accounts and associated profiles and stored data. If Heartbleed were used to harvest TLS session keys, those keys could be used to decrypt captured session traffic at any time. And so on.
Furthermore, the Heartbleed bug has been in OpenSSL code for about two years now, creating a large window of opportunity for past exploitation. Developers can take steps now to eliminate the bug – either by updating OpenSSL or by recompiling affected code with the configuration option -DNO_OPENSSL_HEARTBEATS. However, nothing can be done now to retroactively identify previously-harvested data. Instead, we may need to assume that implementations using vulnerable versions of OpenSSL were probably exploited by someone, somewhere.
Por que? According to http://www.heartbleed.com, pervasive open source web servers like Apache and nginx use vulnerable versions of OpenSSL; together, this software now runs on over 66% of active Internet websites. In addition, OpenSSL is used by many SMTP/POP/IMAP email servers, SSL VPN gateways, and network appliances – including WLAN routers, APs, controllers, and related infrastructure.
How could Heartbleed impact my WLAN’s security?
For starters, WLAN products that are manageable via HTTPS may be vulnerable to Heartbleed. This likely includes many residential wireless routers managed via web interfaces secured via OpenSSL. It may also include remotely-managed APs and WLAN controllers that use OpenSSL libraries, either to secure administrative interfaces or to secure built-in guest access portals. So watch for security notices and firmware updates issued by your WLAN product vendors, and take steps to minimize your risk of bug exploitation in the meantime – such as disabling remote WLAN management or applying ACLs.
In addition, X.509 server and client certificates generated using OpenSSL and used for WPA2-Enterprise 802.1X authentication may need to be revoked and reissued. Look at the CA system or service used to generate them to assess Heartbleed vulnerability, and also any vulnerable systems where these certificates might have been used along with the certificate’s private key.
Furthermore, as vulnerable network devices are identified, consider the credentials and settings that might have harvested in the past and take steps to deter future misuse of that information. For example, a vulnerable AP or WLAN controller might also leak other admin logins/passwords or configuration details stored in memory, such as PSKs used for WPA2-Personal authentication.
To the extent that your organization develops software which uses the OpenSSL library, move quickly to upgrade to a fixed version of OpenSSL and/or compile out TLS heartbeats as described above. Tools are now being circulated to pentest your own code / server for this vulnerability to Heartbleed (see http://www.heartbleed.com).
Finally, leverage your security and surveillance systems to key an eye on traffic – not just unusual TLS traffic or long TLS heartbeats, but unusual admin or user logins or other behaviors that might signal use of previously harvested information. In short, put yourself and your network on high alert until the dust settles and more details about possible impacts and consequences are known. | <urn:uuid:910c386e-d647-4eed-909b-ac160c3fa775> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://enterprise-pt.netscout.com/Heartbleed | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00548-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904054 | 1,110 | 2.75 | 3 |
Recently, I was conducting a security policy audit of a mid-size tech company and asked if they were using any form of disk encryption on their employee’s workstations. They were not, however they pointed me to a policy document that required all “sensitive” files to be stored in an encrypted folder on the User’s desktop. They assumed that this was adequate protection against the files being recovered should the laptop be lost or stolen.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Without full disk encryption (like BitLocker), sensitive system files will always be available to an attacker, and credentials can be compromised. Since Windows file encryption is based on user credentials (either local or AD), once these creds are compromised, an attacker would have full access to all “encrypted” files on the system. I will outline an attack scenario below to stress the importance of full drive encryption.
If you are not familiar, Windows has a built in file encryption function called Encrypting File System (EFS) that has been around since Windows 2000. If you right click on a file or folder and go to Properties->Advanced you can check a box called “Encrypt contents to secure data”. When this box is checked, Windows will encrypt the folder and its contents using EFS, and the folder or file will appear green in Explorer to indicate that it is protected:
Now only that user will be able to open the file. Even Administrators will be denied from viewing it. Here a Domain Admin (‘God’) is attempting to open the encrypted file that was created by a normal user (‘nharpsis’):
According to Microsoft’s TechNet article on EFS, “When files are encrypted, their data is protected even if an attacker has full access to the computer’s data storage.” Unfortunately, this is not quite true. The encrypted file above (“secret.txt”) will be decrypted automatically and viewable whenever ‘nharpsis’ logs in to the machine. Therefore to view the files, an attacker only needs to compromise the ‘nharpsis’ account.
In this attack scenario, we will assume that a laptop has been lost or stolen and is powered off. There are plenty of ways to mount an online attack against Windows or extract credentials and secret keys straight from memory. Tools like mimikatz or the Volatility Framework excel at these attacks.
For a purely offline attack, we will boot from a live Kali Linux image and mount the Windows hard drive. As you can see, even though we have mounted the Windows partition and have read/write access to it, we are unable to view files encrypted with EFS:
Yes you read that right. We are root and we are seeing a “Permission denied”.
Commercial forensic tools like EnCase have functionality to decrypt EFS, but even they require the username and password of the user who encrypted it. So the first step will be to recover Ned Harpsis’s credentials.
There are numerous ways to recover or bypass local accounts on a windows machine. SAMDUMP2 and ‘chntpw’ are included with Kali Linux and do a nice job of dumping NTLM hashes and resetting account passwords, respectively. However, in this instance, and the instance of the company I was auditing, these machines are part of a domain and AD credentials are used to log in.
Windows caches domain credentials locally to facilitate logging in when the Domain Controller is unreachable. This is how you can log in to your company laptop when traveling or on a different network. If any domain user, including admins, have logged in to this machine, his/her username and a hash of his password will be stored in one of the registry hives.
Kali Linux includes the tool ‘cachedump’ which is intended to be used just for this purpose. Cachedump is part of a larger suite of awesome Python tools called ‘creddump’ that is available in a public svn repo: https://code.google.com/p/creddump/
Unfortunately, creddump has not been updated in several years, and you will quickly realize when you try to run it that it does not work on Windows 7:
This is a known issue and is discussed on the official Google Code project.
As a user pointed out, the issue persisted over to the Volatility project and an issue was raised there as well. A helpful user released a patch file for the cachedump program to work with Windows 7 and Vista.
After applying the patches and fixes I found online, as well as some minor adjustments for my own sanity, I got creddump working on my local Kali machine.
For convenience’s sake, I have forked the original Google Code project and applied the patches and adjustments. You can find the updated and working version of creddump on the Neohapsis Github:
Now that I had a working version of the program, it was just a matter of getting it on to my booted Kali instance and running it against the mounted Windows partition:
Bingo! We have recovered two hashed passwords: one for ‘nharpsis’, the user who encrypted the initial file, and ‘god’, a Domain Admin who had previously logged in to the system.
Cracking the Hashes
Unlike locally stored credentials, these are not NT hashes. Instead, they are in a format known as ‘Domain Cache Credentials 2’ or ‘mscash2’, which uses PBKDF2 to derive the hashes. Unfortunately, PBKDF2 is a computation heavy function, which significantly slows down the cracking process.
Both John and oclHashcat support the ‘mscash2’ format. When using John, I recommend just sticking to a relatively short wordlist and not to pure bruteforce it.
If you want to attempt to use a large wordlist with some transformative rules or run pure bruteforce, use a GPU cracker with oclHashcat and still be prepared to wait a while.
To prove that cracking works, I used a wordlist I knew contained the plaintext passwords. Here’s John cracking the domain hashes:
Note the format is “mscash2”. The Domain Admin’s password is “g0d”, and nharpsis’s password is “Welcome1!”
I also extracted the hashes and ran them on our powerful GPU cracking box here at Neohapsis. For oclHashcat, each line must be in the format ‘hash:username’, and the code for mscash2 is ‘-m 2100’:
Accessing the encrypted files
Now that we have the password for the user ‘nharpsis’, the simplest way to retrieve the encrypted file is just to boot the laptop back into Windows and log in as ‘nharpsis’. Once you are logged in, Windows kindly decrypts the files for you, and we can just open them up:
As you can see, if an attacker has physical access to the hard drive, EFS is only as strong as the users login password. Given this is a purely offline attack, an attacker has unlimited time to crack the password and then access the sensitive information.
So what can you do? Enforce full drive encryption. When BitLocker is enabled, everything in the drive is encrypted, including the location of the cached credentials. Yes, there are attacks agains BitLocker encryption, but they are much more difficult then attacking a user’s password.
In the end, I outlined the above attack scenario to my client and recommended they amend their policy to include mandatory full drive encryption. Hopefully this straightforward scenario shows that solely relying on EFS to protect sensitive files from unauthorized access in the event of a lost or stolen device is an inadequate control. | <urn:uuid:9ae3cf42-48a3-4ab5-a14a-2965d0115654> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://labs.neohapsis.com/2014/07/01/cached-domain-credentials-in-vista7-aka-why-full-drive-encryption-is-important/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280900.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00116-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945702 | 1,670 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Congratulations. You’re thinking about protecting a password; a concept that well-known1 sites, to this day2, fail3 to comprehend.
Choose an established, vetted algorithm (SHA-256 would suffice), include a salt (we’ll explain this a bit later), hash the password. Get rid of the plaintext password. Done. See how simple that was? There’s even Open Source code4 to help you with more complex issues.
But once you’ve set foot on the path of hashing passwords you might be tempted to make the hash Even Better. An apparently common idea is that if you hash a password once, hashing it twice makes it more secure. Being “more secure” is a commendable goal, but beware the wild beasts of cryptography, for they are subtle and quick to…well, you should be able to finish that thought.5
Repeating encryption or hashing algorithm isn’t a bad idea, it’s just not fully thought-through idea. First, we need a paragraph or three to catch everyone up on hashing and brute force attacks:
A cryptographic hash function takes an arbitrary-length input and produces a fixed-length output that has no statistical relation to the input. Consequently, a password like friend becomes an unintelligible string like 97823jnsndf234.6 An important property of a cryptographic hash function is that it’s irreversible (information is lost, similar to a lossy compression algorithm). No algorithm exists to turn the output 97823jnsndf234 back into friend. Alternately, an encryption function turns friend into mellon and if you know the encryption scheme and a key, then you know how to turn mellon back into friend. AES is an example of an encryption function.
Cracking a hashed password requires effort on the part of the attacker. This effort, or work factor, represents the time to execute a single hash function multiplied by the expected number of guesses required to find the correct input to the hash function. For example, an attacker might try all six-letter strings such as friena, frienb, frienc until finally hashing the guess of friend and observing that the output matches the reference hash, 97823jnsndf234.
Trying all six-letter lowercase combinations of the English alphabet requires 308,915,776 guesses (26 characters to the 6th power). This is actually a relatively small number in the age of multi-core behemoths and GPU trickery. If a single hash function takes 1 microsecond to execute on a particular system, then the complete brute force will take about 5 minutes. If you pass each input through the hash function N times, then you increase the work factor by N. With N = 100 the six-character attack would take close to 9 hours. The attacker is going to get the password eventually, but now it will take N times longer.
Notice that the previous equation only cared about the time required to execute a single hash function. From this perspective it doesn’t matter if the hash algorithm produces a 128 bit or 512 bit output. It only matters how long it takes to obtain the output. (We’re only talking about hashing and repeated hashing here; bit lengths and algorithm selection still have important security implications for other reasons and against other attacks.)
Here is a simplified explanation of how a repeated hash function fails to universally improve the work factor to brute force a value. The input plaintexts are marked P (with Greek letter subscripts). This brief examples uses 10 iterations of a lossy hash function. The output of each intermediate hash is marked H with a numeric subscript. The final hash iteration is marked C with a subscript corresponding to the original plaintext.
The following line shows how the final value for an input plaintext is achieved:
Pα -> H1 -> H2 -> H3 -> H4 -> H5 -> H6 -> H7 -> H8 -> H9 -> Cα
A different input should produce a different final value:
Pβ -> H43 -> H44 -> H45 -> H46 -> H47 -> H48 -> H49 -> Cβ
A problem occurs when the original plaintext has a collision with one of the intermediate or final hash values. For example, what if Pγ and H7 have the same result when passed into the hash function? You have an overlapping sequence from the end of Pα’s chain:
Pγ -> H8 -> H9 -> H10 -> H11 -> H12 -> H13 -> H14 -> H15 -> H16 -> Cγ
A more pathological case happens when a sequence overlaps significantly:
Pδ -> H44 -> H45 -> H46 -> H47 -> H48 -> H49 -> H50 -> Cδ
The way an attacker would exploit these artifacts is by creating some chain reference tables, much like a rainbow table. Yet in this case, the chain reference is used to skip rounds. For example, given an input plaintext Px, if the first hash round is H13 and the table has a precomputed chain with an H13 in it, then the attacker can fast-forward 10 steps (or however many steps have been precomputed) to get the Cx.
This case for this Time-Memory-Trade-Off (TMTO) attack chains didn’t present any math or probability calculations to back up these assertions. If you’re about to dismisse this attack based on the lack of hard evidence (in this article), consider something else about repeated rounds: they do not introduce additional entropy. Consequently, each round might actually weaken the entropy of the initial input despite the increased work factor due to additional rounds. In a worst case scenario, this dilution of entropy might lead to collisions that make a brute force search even easier.
Repeated hashing does not increase entropy (the “difficulty” of the initial password), it only increases the work factor. Repeated hashing of iloveyou doesn’t make the password any harder to guess, just longer to get there.
Think of it in terms of the attacker’s dictionary. The attacker has a pre-defined list of common passwords, from iloveyou to KAR120C. Neither the hashing algorithm nor the number of repetitions has any impact on this dictionary. Those only affect the amount of time required for the attacker to cycle through the dictionary.
The common theme for using cryptosystems is to first look for implementations that conform to a standard7 rather than creating something you think is new, novel, and unique.
In the case of repeated encryption, you should turn to RFC 2898 for the Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 (PBKDF2).8 PBKDF2 inserts an iteration counter to prevent “chain” attacks. In other words, the attacker must perform every encryption stage. At a minimum, the iteration prevents the attacker from shortcutting rounds using a TMTO trick.
Where repeated rounds increase the attacker’s work factor, salts defeat other precomputation (a.k.a Rainbow table) attacks. A salt is merely a number of bytes (like a string, though it need not be) prefixed or suffixed to a password.
Salting passwords affects the composition of the attacker’s dictionary. Rather than trying the password me+galadriel the attacker must include a salt, which makes it somethinglongbefore-me+galadriel. Salts don’t make the dictionary bigger, they make the dictionary specific to the salt. The idea here is that all of the effort put forth to crack a password with a particular salt cannot be reused to crack the same password with a different salt — the brute force must begin anew. The hash for somethinglongbefore-me+galadriel is completely different from anotherstringinfrontof-me+galadriel. This is the primary way to prevent another TMTO attack, usually referred to as a rainbow table.
If you want a recommendation on the length of a salt, 19 is a nice, mystical number.9
Every measure you take to encrypt and obfuscate the password reduces the risk should the web site’s password store be stolen. (There’s quite a bit of precedent for such things.)
However, everything you do to protect the password in the database (or wherever it is stored) has no bearing on a multitude of other attack vectors, including the database itself.
Imagine a SQL injection attack that sets every user’s password to the hash of a password known to the attacker. What would you rather do? Download the entire DB over a period of several minutes or change every account to a password you know? These approaches have different goals: obtaining original passwords are likely re-used across email, banking, and other sites whereas setting a known password gives immediate access to the site at the expense of blatant activity more likely to be noticed.
Imagine a scenario where the attacker is able to modify the login page so cleartext passwords are stored to a file or shuffled off to another web site.
The focus on encrypting the password and preserving its confidentiality is laudable. However, too much focus takes away from the more immediate threat of brute forcing the login form itself. The work factor to crack a short password like ncc1701 might be measured in days or weeks depending on the method of encryption. On the other hand, the attacker may have a list of the site’s users (or have a reliable way of generating likely user names). In this scenario, the attacker targets the login page with a static password (ncc1701) and cycles through the user list.
Once again, there’s precedent of success for this approach such as against our high-profile friend Twitter. In 2009 a hacker cracked the long (more than the mystical “8 character minimum”), but unsophisticated password happiness for an account that had permissions to reset passwords for any other account.10
Clearly, it didn’t matter how well happiness had been kept secret, encrypted, obfuscated, and otherwise concealed. There were no limits on how many times the login page could be requested for brute forcing the account. Furthermore, the password protection for every other account was moot since the hacker now had access to an admin account from which he could take over any other. The only apparent good news in this scenario is that, while several accounts were compromised, the original passwords to those accounts were not. This is possibly negligible consolation, but important none the less considering the prevalence of password re-use across web sites.
By all means, put some effort into hashing passwords using well-established techniques. You’ll be adding to the work factor of anyone trying to crack the passwords should the password store ever be extracted from the site.
On the other hand, you may be increasing your own work factor with over-engineered solutions for password protection at the expense of other protections — like preventing SQL injection or rate limiting authentication points.
Here’s an additional note I made in the comments, but should highlight in the article:
For comparison, WPA2 uses PBKDF2 with the SSID of the network as a salt, a 256-bit key, HMAC-SHA1 for the algorithm, and 4096 iterations.
If you trying to figure out “what’s best” for hashing a password, consider WPA2 as the reference metric. For example, your hashing should generate a work factor of N times the work factor for WPA2 where N is your degree of paranoia that WPA2 is easily broken.
If you chose a double-digit N “just because”, then why would you ever use a wireless network (phone or Wi-Fi, GSM A5/3 or WPA2, etc.)? It’s much more likely someone will be able to sniff your encrypted traffic than they’ll ever get your hashed passwords. In fact, GSM’s A5/X algorithms have reported attacks. Seems like another reason to layer encryption, such as always using HTTPS.
For another comparison, the OSX File Vault apparently uses PBKDF2 with 1000 iterations. (Although it’d be nice to have a more detailed reference.)
5 If you’re not well-read in crypto you should at least be well read in fiction. After all, the security of a home-grown cryptosystem is closer to fiction.
6 It’s not necessary to think of any specific hash function at this point, but if you want a more concrete example, “friend” is hashed to the hexadecimal string “8e8b4d64f704c7a6aa632a7e6c2024e4f9fed79caac319e6bb7754db587e6f58” using the SHA-256 algorithm.
9 Read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, books V and VII in particular. The series also has one of the greatest first lines in a book, “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” | <urn:uuid:b2e0dd69-09c8-4e83-b576-fd9e43276592> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://deadliestwebattacks.com/category/crypto/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00173-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90482 | 2,739 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Netcraft has published an article stating they have found many bogus SSL certificates. In this case, a bogus certificate is self-signed (i.e., not issued from a legitimate certification authority) and replicates an SSL certificate of a large, popular website.
This type of bogus SSL certificate could be used for a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack. In this scenario, the attacker needs to gain a position that will allow them to intercept traffic and make you to go to their site instead of the real site. This is more likely for public Wi-Fi networks that allow connectivity in airports, cafes and hotels.
Self-signed certificates are not a threat to desktop browsers as they provide a trust dialogue when the certificate is not associated with a trusted root certificate that is embedded in the operating system or browser. The mobile browsers will work in the same way.
There is speculation that the issue is with applications on mobile devices. The Netcraft report references there are studies that show that about 40 percent of these applications do not check the status of the certificates. First, for many application developers, this is arguably legitimate. The application developer wants the app to connect to their service. They are in control of the app and their service, so a self-signed certificate may work in this scenario.
On the other hand, the app might use other services such as PayPal for billing. In this case, the app should verify the certificate properly. This is still a hard attack to pursue. How will the attacker know which bad application you are using and when?
So, what needs to be done?
- Browsers can to continue to check the validity of the certificates and present their trust dialogues.
- Mobile operating system vendors need to check the quality of their applications and only accept those that authenticate certificates properly.
- Application vendors should take the time to check the validity of the certificates. Also implement public key pinning. Some of the most popular applications (e.g., Twitter, Facebook and Google) use public key pinning, which rejects connections to site with bogus certificates. | <urn:uuid:ada5b3e7-294e-41b1-a868-1f6851e2add8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.entrust.com/bogus-ssl-certificates/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279248.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00017-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947026 | 428 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Processor.com: Improve Your Understanding Of Cloud Computing
Send a friend or colleague a link to this article
Cloud computing can be confusing, with multiple models, different types of cloud services, and perceived money-saving features that may be too good to be true. When comparing the available cloud services, you need to find a solution that will fit your data and applications needs but won’t cause you to compromise on security or cost. Also, be sure the service you sign up for is a bona fide cloud computing environment.
Cloud Computing Definitions
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) states that a cloud environment should enable “ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources.” Users should be able to monitor the environment and receive “rapid elasticity” and “on-demand self-service,” according to NIST. Cloud computing has three service models (SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS) with four deployment models (private, community, public, and hybrid). | <urn:uuid:4a9c5147-047e-4c35-9edb-6f6af53389a8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.infotech.com/research/it-processorcom-improve-your-understanding-of-cloud-computing | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00503-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.894386 | 224 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Methacrylic acid is a colorless, organic compound which has a very unpleasant odor. It is a carboxylic acid, which is soluble in water and in many organic solvents. The methacrylic acid is toxic in nature and may harm the surroundings if it is not properly handled. The main and primary use of methacrylic acid is to use as a building block for producing many polymer based products. Methacrylic acid can be easily polymerized and are broadly used in co-polymers which are used in the production of coatings, adhesives, textile, leather, pharmaceuticals, paper, in oil & gas etc.
Methacrylic acid is a mono functional methacrylate monomer which is used as a precursor for its esters such as methyl metharylate and poly methyl methacrylate. It is commonly manufactured by hydrolysis of methacrylamide sulfate. Also, the wastes are used to manufacture esters. The report covers application areas such as Adhesive & Sealants, intermediates, paint additives, coatings, and others.
Properties of methacrylic acid such as light weight and energy efficiency have contributed to the rising demand from various industries such as automotive, transportation, etc. Also, light weight vehicles has better efficiency and have lower emissions due to which there has been supportive government regulations from regions such as North America, Western Europe, and others. Also, manufactures are focusing on bio- based feedstock to manufacture methacrylic acid; thus there would be secure raw material supply which provides new opportunities for the growth of the market. The global market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.8% during 2014-2019.
This market research study provides a detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of the global methacrylic acid market. Various secondary sources, such as encyclopedia, directories, industry journals, and databases are used to identify and collect information useful for this extensive commercial study of the methacrylic acid market. The primary sources include experts from related industries and suppliers who have been interviewed to obtain and verify critical information as well as to assess the future prospects of the market.
The research report provides a detailed analysis on quantitative as well as qualitative factors affecting the methacrylic acid market. It categorizes the market on the basis of applications, and geography from 2014 to 2020. The study includes drivers and restraints and its impact on methacrylic acid market.
The report includes a detailed value chain analysis, which provides a comprehensive view of the methacrylic acid market. The study provides a decisive view on the methacrylic acid market by segmenting it in terms of end-users. The global methacrylic acid market is mainly segmented into geography, derivative and application. In terms of application the market is segmented into pharmaceuticals, textile & leather, coating, adhesives and others. In terms of geography the market is segmented into North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In terms of derivative the market is mainly segmented into Methylmethacrylate, Ethylmethacrylate, Ethylene methacrylic acid, Tri-ethylene glycol di-methacrylate and others. Demand of the methacrylic acid from the emerging economies, and from growing construction, automobile industries is expected to drive the market. On the other hand toxicity and fluctuation in raw material prices may restrain the market. The global methacrylic acid market is estimated at $xx million in 2014 and is projected to reach to $xx million by 2020, growing at a CAGR of xx%. The XX region holds the largest share of the global methacrylic acid market and is expected to continue its dominance up to 2020.
Competitive scenarios of top players have been discussed in detail. We have also profiled leading players of this industry with their recent developments and other strategic industry activities. This report analyses various marketing trends and the most effective growth strategy in the market. Major companies covered are The Dow Chemical Company, Evonik Industries A.G., E. I. Du Pont De Nemours, Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd., Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, Chi Mei Corporation, Arkema Group, Formosa Plastic Group, Zhejiang Satellite Petro Chemical Co. Ltd., and others.
KEY TAKE-AWAYS FROM OUR REPORT
- Definition and segmentation of the methacrylic acid market
- Analysis and forecasts in terms of volume (KT) and revenue ($million) of the methacrylic acid market
- Analysis of market in terms of volume (KT) and value ($million) for the aforesaid applications, and major countries
- Identification of factors that drive or inhibit growth of the methacrylic acid market and their impact at present, and in future
- Identification of winning imperatives by tracking strategic developments of methacrylic acid manufacturers
- Competitive landscape and profiling top players (methacrylic acid manufacturers)
1.1. ANALYST INSIGHTS
1.2. MARKET DEFINITIONS
1.3. MARKET SEGMENTATION & ASPECTS COVERED
2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.1. ARRIVING AT METHACRYLIC ACID MARKET SIZE
2.1.1. MARKET SIZE ESTIMATION
2.1.2. TOP DOWN APPROACH
2.1.3. BOTTOM UP APPROACH
2.1.4. DEMAND (CONSUMPTION) SIDE ANALYSIS
2.2. KEY DATA TAKEN FROM SECONDARY SOURCES
2.3. KEY DATA FROM PRIMARY SOURCES
2.4. KEY INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4. MARKET OVERVIEW
4.2. VALUE-CHAIN ANALYSIS
4.3. MARKET DYNAMICS
4.3.1. MARKET DRIVERS
4.3.2. MARKET INHIBITORS
4.3.3. MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
4.3.4. BURNING ISSUE
4.5. PRODUCTION METHODS
4.7. PROPERTIES OF METHACRYLIC ACID
5. GLOBAL METHACRYLIC ACID MARKET, INDUSTRY TRENDS
5.2. INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
5.3. KEY TRENDS
5.3.1. TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
5.3.2. MARKET TRENDS
5.4. PRICE TRENDS
5.5. PORTER’S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS
5.5.1. THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS
5.5.2. THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES
5.5.3. BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS
5.5.4. BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS
5.5.5. INTENSITY OF COMPETITIVE RIVALRY
5.6. INDUSTRY SWOT ANANALYSIS
6. GLOBAL METHACRYLIC ACID MARKET, BY APPLICATION
6.3. TEXTILE & LEATHER
7. GLOBAL METHACRYLIC ACID MARKET, BY DERIVATIVE
7.2. METHYLMETHACRYLATE (MMA)
7.3. ETHYLMETHACRYLATE (EMA)
7.4. 2-HYDROXYETHYL METHACRYLATE (HEMA)
7.5. 2-HYDROXYPROPYL METHACRYLATE (HPMA)
7.6. ISO-BUTYL METHACRYLATE (I-BMA)
8. GLOBAL METHACRYLIC ACID MARKET, BY GEOGRAPHY
8.1. NORTH AMERICA
8.3. ASIA PACIFIC
9. GLOBAL METHACRYLIC ACID MARKET, COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
9.2. MARKET STRUCTURE
9.3. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
9.4. COMPANY PRESENCE IN METHACRYLIC ACID MARKET
9.4.1. NORTH AMERICA
9.4.3. ASIA PACIFIC
9.5. MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
9.6. NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES
9.7. EXPANSION & INVESTMENT
10. GLOBAL METHACRYLIC ACID MARKET, COMPANY PROFILES
10.1. EVONIK INDUSTRIES A.G.
10.2. E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS
10.3. GUJRAT STATE FERTILIZERS AND CHEMICALS LTD.
10.4. MITSUBISHI GAS CHEMICAL
10.5. ASAHI KASEI CHEMICALS CORPORATION
10.6. THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY
10.7. CHI MEI CORPORATION
10.8. ARKEMA GROUP
10.9. FORMOSA PLASTIC GROUP
10.10. ZHEJIANG SATELLITE PETRO CHEMICAL CO. LTD.
Please fill in the form below to receive a free copy of the Summary of this Report
Please visit http://www.micromarketmonitor.com/custom-research-services.html to specify your custom Research Requirement | <urn:uuid:6ef5b9dc-dc0b-479d-8a44-d939c6761fb6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.micromarketmonitor.com/market-report/methacrylic-acid-reports-1250659963.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283475.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00043-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.833092 | 2,063 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Researchers from Stanford University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln claim they have created the world's fastest organic transistors, using an advanced new production process.
The team said that its work, which was published in the journal Nature Communications this week, shows that it's theoretically possible to use organics for demanding applications like high-def TV screens.
+ Also on NetworkWorld: Dell says it is open to layoffs as rumors swirl | Verizon signs-up Oracle to tackle Amazon in the cloud +
Credit: Stanford School of Engineering
Compared to the silicon-based technologies used to create today's electronics, the researchers said, organic transistors should be far less expensive to produce, with the added advantage that they can be made essentially transparent. The problem, until now, has always been that the organic transistors couldn't match the performance of standard silicon – limiting their ability to supplant current technologies in the device market.
The Stanford and UNL researchers, however, said that they have achieved a major breakthrough on that score, and that their new organic transistors are “comparable” to modern silicon in performance, and far in excess of previous organic semiconductors. The trick, it turns out, was a pair of tweaks to the production process of the circuits.
Organic transistors are produced by dripping a solution of carbon-rich molecules and plastic onto a rapidly spinning medium, spreading the solution thinly and evenly. The researchers tweaked the process by upping the speed at which the medium (a glass platter) was spun, and coating it only partially. This, they said, resulted in a more regular alignment of the molecules and, consequently, better conductivity.
The process, which the team dubbed off-center spin coating, could eventually allow for the production of cheap, transparent electronic devices. It currently remains a purely experimental technology, however.
Email Jon Gold at email@example.com and follow him on Twitter at @NWWJonGold. | <urn:uuid:fb95dff7-de42-4c15-9f40-7b6c734dcb17> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.networkworld.com/article/2173336/data-center/see-through--organic-transistors-are--world-s-fastest-.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283475.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00043-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95621 | 401 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Size, Speed of Data Transfer Increasing
Indiana University (IU) is looking to widen lanes and raise the speed limit on the information superhighway — it recently introduced the Data Capacitor, a file system designed to store and manipulate large data sets.
The Data Capacitor has a single-client-transfer rate of 977 megabytes per second across the TeraGrid network, which is an open scientific discovery infrastructure that combines large computing resources at nine sites (such as supercomputer centers and universities) partnered with the National Science Foundation to create a geographically diverse computational resource.
Work on the Data Capacitor began with a grant of $1.72 million from the National Science Foundation in late 2005. Steven Simms, Data Capacitor project leader, said the idea behind the system was to create a facility that would do three things: provide large storage, provide fast storage and provide researchers with a way to find large data sets after transfer.
“The premise is that digital instruments these days, including machines that are producing simulation data, produce that data at an alarming rate,” Simms said. “I like to call it the ‘data fire hose.’ If you’re going to capture the data, that means you’ve got to be able to ingest that data quickly, and if your simulations are running for a long time, you’ve got to have hundreds of terabytes of space to accommodate multiple streams of this kind of data from different departments. So, we set down this path: We started mounting the file system on multiple locations, tying local resources together.”
This is where the TeraGrid comes into play.
“The idea is that by having this across a wide area, it frees you up from the overhead of data transfer, so you don’t necessarily have to at every step of your work flow control the speed of someone else’s schedule,” Simms said. “You can’t necessarily control how fast your network is going to go, so you have this vast data reservoir or ‘data parking lot’ where you push your data temporarily so that you can inject it someplace else. Your services don’t have to push the data from resource to resource. It saves you time — the data’s already there.”
The system’s speed and efficiency have the potential to change how scientists collaborate across great distances, exponentially enhancing that process.
Simms described a hypothetical scenario in which a scientific instrument is in one location, and a researcher far from the instrument wants to use it to harvest data.
“[Using the Data Capacitor through the TeraGrid network] it would be possible for them to send small messages to that instrument, and then the instrument could blow data to a shared file space,” Simms said. “The data would then leave the instrument and be able to be written quickly to this central file system. Then, the researcher at a remote point could mount that file system and pull that data, analyze that data or compute against that data seamlessly.”
Simms said this system potentially can affect a broad range of scientific disciplines, citing archeological image preservation and astronomy as examples — he relayed a news story about an astronomer who was working on a particular project and complained that pushing a terabyte worth of data was going to take him 30 days.
“I thought, ‘That’s a crime,’” Simms said. “We can do it across the TeraGrid network in 20 minutes.” | <urn:uuid:c19656f8-4e56-4c6e-8c31-0a6fd678db76> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://certmag.com/size-speed-of-data-transfer-increasing/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00283-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935612 | 744 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Trusted ComputingBy Jan Ozer | Posted 2003-02-01 Email Print
Primer: Four years after industry leaders formed an alliance to determine a security standard, your network hardware may soon be more vigilant about who's let through the front door.
What is it? A specification to increase network security by building unique hardware IDs into computing devices.
Where did it come from? The Trusted Computing Platform Alliance (TCPA), a group formed by Compaq, HP, IBM, Intel and Microsoft in October 1999. Its first specification, released in September 2001, is currently at version 1.1b. The next version, 1.2, will incorporate the guidelines for operating-system support.
The overall specification requires that the TPM be able to:
- determine and announce whether the computer is running only the expected software and is free from viruses, keyboard snoopers and similar programs.
- authenticate the platform to third parties. In a corporate environment, this means identifying the hardware of each device that logs onto the corporate network.
- encrypt files so that they can be opened only on that platform.
Does this mean I don't need biometrics? Unfortunately, no. If an unauthorized party can boot up your computer, say, by stealing your passwords, trusted computing provides no extra protection.
What's available today? IBM is currently shipping the first computers with a TCPA-compliant hardware module called the Embedded Security Subsystem. It's available as a $25 option (or less, if you buy more than one) on many ThinkPad notebooks and NetVista Desktops. These computers provide two of the key benefits of Trusted Computing: the ability to remotely verify identification, and the ability to encrypt files that can only be decrypted on that computer.
But there are no commercially available network products that can query the remote computer and determine its identity; at this point, you'll have to roll your own. IBM representatives predict several vendors will release commercial systems by year's end.
Wait, doesn't Microsoft do this? Well, sort of. Palladium, Microsoft's security initiative, has many of the same goals as Trusted Computing. Publicly, Microsoft has stated that Palladium is not an implementation of the TCPA spec. That may be, but Palladium requires a hardware module called the "Security Support Component (SSC)"which sounds very similar to a Trusted Platform Moduleand will likely only appear on motherboards in response to an industrywide standard.
For its part, TCPA claims it is operating system-agnostic, but members admit that without operating system support, they can only ensure a trusted state through boot-up. Given that Windows isand will likely continue to bethe dominant OS going forward, the groups need one another if they want to realize their respective visions.
This sounds scary. The thought of Microsoft at the helm of datasecurity and system integrity has sparked fears that Microsoft would prevent other vendors' programs from running on Palladium-equipped systems, prevent users from ripping CD tracks or other exercises of fair use, or arbitrarily revoke your license to run programs on your computer. For its part, Microsoft has continually denied that Palladium could even be used to enforce software licensing, but the fears persist.
Whatever Palladium turns out to be, it won't be soon. Originally scheduled for release as early as 2004, most published reports have Palladium pushed back to 2006 or later.
Think your company's computers are too trusting? Take our | <urn:uuid:073fe841-2909-493a-ad42-77accfd1e7de> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.baselinemag.com/networking/Trusted-Computing | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00191-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937556 | 717 | 2.546875 | 3 |
We've all heard the controversy over whether cell phones and cell towers are safe to be around and most studies have concluded the risks are minimal to nonexistent (so far no study has shown conclusive proof that there is a serious health risk).
But what about WiFi?
US Cellular Frequency Bands [Wikipedia]
It turns out no research has been done into the effects of WiFi on humans and WiFi operates at much higher frequencies (2.4 to 2.5 GHz and 5.250 to 5.350 GHz and 5.470 to 5.725 GHGHz). But now, thanks to a group of Danish ninth grade students, we have some interesting evidence that garden cress seems to have a big problem with WiFi.
The students had noticed that after sleeping next to their cell phones they had difficulty concentrating the next day so they set up an experiment. According to Danish news site DR:
Six trays of [cress] seeds were placed in a room with no radiation, while six were placed in another room alongside two routers emitting roughly the same type of radiation as an ordinary mobile phone.
The results after 12 days were surprising: "the cress seeds alongside the routers did not grow at all, and some even mutated or died."
The cress seeds exposed to WiFi radiation (yuck)
Also according to DR:
Professor Olle Johanson of Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm is among those to have been impressed. Johanson considers the experiment to be ingenious and now wants to repeat it with a Belgian research colleague, Professor Marie-Claire Cammaert of the Université libre de Bruxelles.
“Within the limitations of their understanding and ability, the girls have carried out and documented a very elegant piece of work. The wealth of detail and precision is exemplary, the choice of the right cress is very intelligent, and I could go on,” said Johanson.
Of course many news services and blogs have picked this story up and run with it shouting "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" but, somewhat obviously, as impressive as this was it was hardly a rigorous experiment and while it's interesting and provocative, serious research is required before anyone can say correlation does reveal causation ... in other words, correlating WiFi with the observed effect on cress doesn't mean that WiFi caused the effect, at least not without a whole heap of serious research.
As the Doubtful News blog observed:
But here's a thing ... EMFs also caused accelerated germination. So ... which is it? Always look for the counterpoint. The actual conclusion is probably way more complicated than X leads directly to Y. | <urn:uuid:caf96a94-fded-4ee6-bc19-aa000cfe7b09> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.networkworld.com/article/2225989/security/wifi-might-rot-your-brain--or-kill-your-cress-.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00191-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972517 | 544 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, is a hacker.
In an interview of 60 Minutes he openly distinguished between “criminal” hacking and hacking that is used to exposed a network’s or website’s security flaws. The first, he confirms, is most certainly a crime, generally involving the accessing and exploitation of a victim’s information without permission. His kind of hacking, on the other hand, is useful and helpful in the name, ultimately, of security.
Following the untimely death of young hacker Aaron Swartz, the internet has been abuzz about the idea that there are different kinds of hacking and that some are justifiable, even if others aren’t. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or CFAA, was put in place in the 1980s, and many are arguing that it is in need of amending.
Dorsey is not the only big name in tech who got his start as a kid hacker. Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg and Bill Gates are three of the most recognizable names in technology and have all admitted, if not celebrated, the fact that they come from hacker roots.
What do you think? Are there different kinds of hacking? Are some justifiable? At the end of the day, the internet needs to be a safe place for everyone. What’s the best way to ensure that is the case? | <urn:uuid:723aaeab-5560-4af1-b582-61765f03c822> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://blog.keepersecurity.com/2013/03/21/the-debate-over-ethical-hacking/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280668.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00099-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951944 | 287 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Zsh - The new Linux/Unix shell everyone's talking about
AneeshDogra 270005VJAF Visits (11682)
What really is Zsh?
Zsh (Z Shell) is a Unix shell with a powerful shell scripting engine. Zsh is an improvement over the Bourne Shell and includes some of the features of bash, ksh and tcsh.
Why would you really use Zsh?
1) Command Completion -- like a ninja!
Not only for files and directories but also for commands like git, kill etc.
2) Shared History
This is one of the features I craved for while using bash. I usually like to work in multiple terminals and I like my command history to be shared with all the sessions, but this wasn't the case with bash. Zsh to the rescue!
Its really helpful.
I haven't really seen any shell with better customization options than Zsh. Robby Russell's Oh-My-Zsh project makes it simple and fun
Best Customization options :-
Some important Links
ZShell Video tutorial | <urn:uuid:1d916bbd-9f60-4bd0-9267-6bb00c349d2f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/58e72888-6340-46ac-b488-d31aa4058e9c/entry/zsh_the_new_unix_shell_everyone_s_talking_about9?lang=en | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280850.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00007-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918882 | 228 | 2.53125 | 3 |
NASA has taken some hits for having decades-old computer technology running the shuttle program and the International Space station. For example, the space agency uses some technology that the moon programs relied on in the 1960s and the space station uses processors more than two decades old. Sounds like a typical government operation? Well, no, when you have scientists explain it.
A silicon.com article reports:
When it comes to spacecraft, design reliability - and not bleeding edge technology - is the watchword, with onboard chips having to undergo extensive testing to prove their robustness and compatibility with the spacecraft's onboard software.
. . . "A spacecraft is not accessible - once it is launched it is there, so you have to be extremely sure that things work," said [Alessandro] Donati, [head of the advanced mission concepts and technologies office at the European Space Agency's Space Operations Centre at Darmstadt, Germany].
Upgrading computing hardware is another task that is normally straightforward on the ground but that becomes an expensive and time-consuming job in space.
Simply put, any upgrade or new technology has to work from the beginning -- always, or else. That's why it takes nearly three years to do a software upgrade. Everything has to be tested and tested again.
But NASA plans to upgrade processors on the space station next year - "the station's first major avionics computer redesign in the 12 years it has been in orbit," silicon.com reports. | <urn:uuid:52d54299-bae8-453b-a379-7e35e92d3af9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.nextgov.com/technology-news/tech-insider/2010/09/why-legacy-it-works/53851/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281226.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00493-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950361 | 298 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Black Box Explains...How to maximize your wireless range
There are four simple rules that enable you to transmit wireless communications up to their maximum range:
• Try to keep a direct line between the transmitter and receiver.
• Minimize the number of walls and ceilings between the transmitter and receiver. Such obstructions reduce the range.
• If there are obstructions, be sure the wireless signal passes through drywall or open doorways and not other materials.
• Keep the transmitter and receiver at least 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 m) away from electrical devices or appliances, especially those that generate extreme RF noise. | <urn:uuid:ca925045-db4b-49aa-a7d3-3defa401bfcb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.blackbox.com/en-ca/products/black-box-explains/black-box-explains-how-to-maximize-your-wireless-range | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280280.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00035-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911794 | 131 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The use of RFID in government documents will make identification easier, but will also have potential security risks. In the second of two articles, Joseph Pearson, Government Identification Marketing Manager, RFID Systems for Texas Instruments, discusses how technological breakthroughs will protect individuals and their private data.
Access Control and Security
Ever-increasing security demands place pressure on government agencies to deploy stronger levels of security in government-issued credentials. Although large-scale issuance of e-passports began in 2006, preparations are underway to increase security. To accommodate higher levels of security, smart ICs (integrated circuits) contained in these IDs need to scale to hold more data and must have fast transaction speeds to write and read this data.
BAC and EAC in Electronic Passports
The RF-based contactless smart card IC in today's e-passports has a number of security features. One measure is a short reading distance of 10 cm (4 inches) or less between the chip and reader. All current e-passports have Basic Access Control (BAC) security, a criteria developed by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO). The information stored on chips with BAC is the same as on the printed data page, plus the digital photo. BAC requires that the machine readable zone on the data page be read electronically by the reader first to unlock the chip. Once the chip is unlocked, it then transmits the passport's number, individual's birth date and photo to the reader. The data is sent via encrypted communication, minimizing the risk of eavesdropping intercepting the electronic information that moves between the chip and reader and skimming, or obtaining data from the passport holder surreptitiously.
Efforts are underway to increase e-passport security, ensuring the passport holder is the credential owner. This requires more sensitive information than a photo, such as fingerprint or iris biometrics, be added to the chip. ICAO recommends the use of Extended Access Control (EAC) to protect fingerprints and other sensitive biometric data such as iris scans. As of November 1, 2007, Germany became the first European Union country to begin rolling out second generation e-passports with fingerprint data. The new e-passports will incorporate two fingerprint images on the chip. European Commission regulation EC 2252/2004 calls for the incorporation of fingerprint data on European Union e-passports by June 28, 2009.
EAC performs BAC, plus smart IC authentication and terminal authentication. Smart IC authentication is the act of proving the smart IC is genuine to protect e-passports from cloning, while terminal authentication is the act of proving that a reader is a genuine reader, ensuring the e-passport's chip will not provide its information to an unauthenticated reader.
The complexity of the infrastructure to support secondstage biometric data and EAC places greater demands on smart ICs; they need increased memory capability, faster processing power and new levels of security. The amount of data required for EAC will have an impact on productivity when e-passports are personalized. Personalization time for EAC will increase using chips with electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) and Flash memory, as almost twice the data will need to be written to the chip for two fingerprints. The chip must be read to verify the data after it is initially written, further adding to increased production time. In addition, doubling the amount of data read from the IC to authenticate the e-passport holder's identity will increase inspection times at border checkpoints.
Government IDs Require Smart ICs
First generation e-passports marked the beginning of the migration away from a paper-based document. Future versions, with fast write and read times and more memory, could efficiently employ additional functionality such as entry/exit location information and electronic visas, which can be written to the IC on the fly. This electronic-based data provides increased protection at the border by giving inspectors access to an instantaneous history of where the person has been, or flagging them if a person's visa is expired. Data on an e-passport, when properly secured, has the advantage of being less susceptible to fraud than hand stamping, and using a capable secure smart IC will not slow border inspection.
National citizen and governmental agency ID cards may hold multiple applications. After credentials are issued, linking additional applications requires new data be written to them. For example, if the health services agency issues a smart card to an individual and later the pension agency wants that person to use the same card, then the pension agency will write its application data to that credential. To prevent a lengthy wait to upload the application, the smart IC needs fast writing speeds to reduce processing time. If applications are automatically written or removed at a consumer terminal or kiosk, faster chip speeds can cut queue lengths and wait times.
Today, ID cards have multiple uses for physical and logical access control, but because they are contactbased, biometric data cannot be transferred via RF communication. More efficient smart ICs could handle the additional security for contactless biometric data transmission while enabling quicker personalization and card issuance. As with e-passports, electronic location stamping can be incorporated, using the fast processing speed of new smart IC technology.
Another capability being evaluated for government ID credentials is biometric match-on-card security. Match-on-card technology uses biometrics as a Personal Identification Number (PIN) replacement in access solutions by performing the actual fingerprint match within the secure smart IC card environment. This removes the uncertainty of matching the fingerprint to a database, via a network-connected device, or external server, typically considered weak links in the chain of security. Privacy concerns can be addressed by having the user control the association of his or her biometric information to the credential.
While next generation smart ICs will enable new applications, improve document production efficiency, and ease wait times at borders, the greatest benefit to all citizens is the enhanced safety and privacy this new technology offers. Preserving the privacy of personal information and guarding the security all countries and people are the prime directives of next generation government electronic IDs.
The Dawning of Next Generation Government Electronic IDs: Part I | <urn:uuid:f1292737-272b-48bb-a0bc-7e13f8cce76e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.asmag.com/showpost/6232.aspx | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00429-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903881 | 1,265 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Chapter 1 Introduction
In this introductory chapter, a brief overview of the field of cryptography and related issues is given.
- 1.1 What is RSA Laboratories' Frequently Asked Questions About Today's Cryptography?
- 1.2 What is cryptography?
- 1.3 What are some of the more popular techniques in cryptography?
- 1.4 How is cryptography applied?
- 1.5 What are cryptography standards?
- 1.6 What is the role of the United States government in cryptography?
- 1.7 Why is cryptography important? | <urn:uuid:e498d809-f9cf-40f9-b6e6-a52e390ab08b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.emc.com/emc-plus/rsa-labs/standards-initiatives/chapter-1-introduction.htm | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00549-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902422 | 115 | 2.9375 | 3 |
In an age when malicious incursions often target credit card transactions at various merchants, EMV (which actually stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa) serves as a protective measure against such encroachments by providing a much-needed layer of authentication for payment processes.
According to The Motley Fool, EMV technology first surfaced in 1992 as a collaborative effort between the three companies that constitute the acronym.
What the technology does is implant a chip in credit cards that serves as an important identity-verifying measure. This can go a long way toward preventing a credit card from being used by someone it doesn’t belong to.
Though the technology first debuted in France, it has gained significant steam and is now being used worldwide. Implementation in the United States, however, is being discussed, researched and planned.
EMV is proving particularly helpful as more customers move toward online-banking methods. Many mobile-banking servers have been built around the compliance standards ushered in by EMV.
What this means is that the technology is playing an integral role not only in improving banking security, but in reshaping the very nature of that security as well. According to an explanatory site for EMV, around the world 76 percent of point-of-sale devices now take EMV cards. | <urn:uuid:3f71f16b-cbd3-44a0-976f-e9d24cc0473e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.entrust.com/emv/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00549-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9681 | 263 | 2.796875 | 3 |
by Tim Moran
Would you like to save some big money running your data center?
Well, not milk, exactly, but Got Cows? About 10,000 of them?
An HP Labs research paper presented at the ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability in Phoenix claims that "the manure output of cows and the heat output of data centers can be combined to create an economically and environmentally sustainable operation."
According to HP, "10,000 dairy cows could fulfill the power requirements of a 1-megawatt (MW) data center-the equivalent of a medium-sized data center-with power left over to support other needs on the farm." Apparently, the heat generated by the data center can aid the anaerobic digestion of animal waste, which results in the production of methane that can be used to generate power for the data center. "This symbiotic relationship allows the waste problems faced by dairy farms and the energy demands of the modern data center to be addressed in a sustainable manner."
HP admits that dairy farms and data centers might sound like strange bedfellows, but "both can be aligned to create a sustainable life cycle, using technologies readily available today."
The average dairy cow produces about 55 kg (120 pounds) of manure per day, and approximately 20 metric tons per year; the manure that one dairy cow produces in a day can generate 3.0 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electrical energy, which is enough to power television usage in three U.S. households per day; approximately 70 percent of the energy in the methane generated via anaerobic digestion could be used for data center power and cooling, thus reducing the impact on natural resources.
So, if you've got a very large dairy farm anywhere near your data center, you might want to stop by and shoot the bull, because, like I've always said, cows are a gas. | <urn:uuid:d9bcfb96-a5c0-4217-a56f-84864ad525d2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blogs.cioinsight.com/green-it/got-cows.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280891.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00273-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917651 | 386 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Many jurisdictions around the country are realizing the benefits of public-safety mobile data systems. "Mobile data" refers to a vehicle-based computing device that communicates wirelessly with a host computer system. Installing computers in police vehicles gives law enforcement personnel access to "silent" dispatch and status messages; local, state and national crime database information; vehicle-to-vehicle text messaging; and report writing and processing. Likewise, fire and EMS personnel can use mobile data for dispatch and status messaging and automated vehicle location as well as accessing pre-fire building plans, inspection history, HAZMAT information or other database information. In short, wireless mobile computing provides access to more complete and timely information, which enables police, fire and EMS staff to perform more effectively.
Since wireless networks are a critical component of mobile data systems, public agencies must decide how best to connect users in the field to host computers. Until recently, the decision was clear: Construct a private-data radio network -- vendor built, and government owned and operated -- to be used exclusively by a single agency or department. Today, commercial-data radio networks are becoming viable for law enforcement use. Government agencies now have the option of leasing a wireless network infrastructure and services, much as they would lease a wired network from the telephone company.
As with any technology investment decision, there are important factors to consider in assessing whether to build a private wireless data network or lease a commercial one: Cost, performance, security, flexibility and priority access must be considered.
What Is a Private Mobile Data Network?
Private wireless data backbones provide a dedicated network tailored to the specific needs of a public safety community. This approach requires your agency or jurisdiction to construct and operate its own wireless data network backbone, with responsibility for implementation, funding, operations and maintenance of the backbone infrastructure. You would also be responsible for licensing frequencies to be used for mobile data transmissions. Design and construction of a private-network infrastructure entails significant initial costs. However, these may be reduced through the strategic use of existing infrastructure, such as radio sites and towers.
Mobile data applications are typically implemented together with the private network as a single, integrated solution, although some systems integration is required for computer-aided dispatch and records-management systems (CAD/ RMS). Current private networks provide up to 19,200 bits per second (bps) data throughput per channel, sufficient for most text-based public-safety applications. They are designed to be secure and provide priority access to public-safety users. Private networks have a proven track record for public safety; most public safety mobile data systems operate on private wireless networks.
What Is a Commercial Mobile Data Network?
Commercial mobile data networks provide wireless data access to subscribers, including governmental and non-governmental organizations, using a variety of communication technologies, including specialized mobile radio (SMR), spread spectrum, cellular digital packet data (CDPD), satellite and others. Each relies on a terrestrial network for connectivity with host computers.
By using a commercial wireless provider, your agency avoids investing significant cost and time constructing a fixed, private infrastructure (for most private systems, the fixed infrastructure can account for 40 percent to 60 percent of the total one-time costs of a wireless data system). However, commercial wireless networks entail significant monthly subscriber fees per user. These recurring costs typically lead to higher system lifetime costs.
Many commercial wireless networks employ open protocols, support a variety of user devices and are easily scalable to allow for expansion. Nevertheless, significant systems integration is required to develop interfaces among applications and between the wired network infrastructure and the commercial wireless network.
One of the distinct advantages of commercial wireless networks is the increased bandwidth and data throughput they provide (up to 28,800 bps throughput per channel). Since commercial networks typically have more sites and channels than a private system, the design of commercial networks allows for more users to gain access at these higher speeds. In the future, commercial networks could more easily support data-intensive applications, such as mapping, digital mugshots and automated fingerprint identification.
Most commercial networks provide some security features, though many do not offer the ability to prioritize among all subscribers. As a result, during periods of high demand, public safety users could experience delays in transmissions as they compete with other users for air time. Presently, many commercial wireless networks in the United States have more than adequate capacity and, for many providers, the ability to easily add capacity.
Since most commercial wireless-network services have only recently become viable for mobile data applications, there are relatively few implementations, with data inquiry the most common application. Although a few small agencies have used commercial services for dispatch and status messaging, commercial networks are nonetheless considered to be untested for such mission-critical public safety applications.
Food for Thought
When comparing private to commercial approaches, keep the following issues in mind:
* Costs -- Public safety mobile data systems can be expensive, but they are one of the most important investments a government can make. They provide fire and police personnel with timely, direct access to information and enable law-enforcement officers to spend more time policing the streets.
The cost of any mobile data solution can vary greatly based on factors such as coverage, geography, topography, number of users, applications and the local market for wireless-data vendors.
Due to the differences between private- and commercial-network cost structures, governments must consider the full life-cycle costs when considering potential systems investments.
The continued proliferation of commercial network alternatives should drive down the price-to-performance ratios of all wireless network providers, both private and commercial.
* Performance -- Public safety users like the reliability and proven performance of private-network mobile data systems.
For private-data networks, additional users and applications can require the construction of new infrastructure or the addition of frequencies, which are expensive and difficult propositions.
In assessing network alternatives, agencies should consider long-term performance needs. Whether private or commercial, a network should support the addition of new users, as well as new applications, several years into the future.
Commercial wireless networks are pushing the limits of wireless network bandwidth and data throughput, providing an attractive alternative for data-intensive applications.
Many agencies are employing hybrid solutions that use commercial wireless networks for high-bandwidth applications and the tried-and-true private networks for mission-critical public safety messaging applications.
* Flexibility -- Due to their use of open protocols, the cost of switching between most commercial networks is relatively low. By contrast, the investment in a private-network infrastructure increases the cost of switching from one private-network vendor to another.
With the pace of change in technology today, governments desire technology investments with low-cost migration paths that allow them to easily take advantage of advancements in technology.
Governments typically rely on their chosen vendor to provide a migration path for proprietary private networks. In some cases, vendors have ceased to support a protocol, leaving agencies with an obsolete system.
* Application Integration -- Private-network vendors typically offer a fully integrated suite of mobile data systems; they have implemented such systems in hundreds of jurisdictions. This track record ensures public safety agencies of not only seamless integration, but proven reliability and technical support.
There have been relatively few implementations of fully integrated mobile data applications on a commercial network.
* Access -- With a limited, defined group of users, owners of a private network can predict how their system will react during peak usage (e.g., emergencies) and plan accordingly.
Commercial infrastructures have many different users besides public-safety agencies. Without priority access, corporate and individual users may "crowd out" public safety users, causing unacceptable delays for public safety users.
* Security -- Many public-safety agencies prefer to own their data networks for security reasons, feeling that it is too important to trust to anyone else.
While commercial networks offer many security features, skepticism among public safety agencies is likely to continue until commercial networks are fully proven in the field.
Not "Bleeding" Edge
Implementing a public-safety wireless data infrastructure is a complex proposition for any agency. Both private and commercial networks have benefits and drawbacks -- the relative weights of which will vary from agency to agency. While all of the above factors should be given due consideration, one of the most important considerations is risk.
Public-safety agencies are not inclined to utilize technology that has not repeatedly proven itself in the field. Many have taken a "wait-and-see" approach, delaying the purchase of new systems until commercial networks have been field-tested for all public safety applications. Gradually, more agencies have begun to test the waters of commercial wireless networks, but few are ready to take the full plunge.
Private and Commercial
Wireless Data Networks Private
Major vendors National Some national,
Public-safety implementations Yes Yes
implementations Yes Few
System design To agency's
needs For broadest use
Control over prioritization Agency Vendor
System design Proprietary Proprietary &
Frequency ownership Agency Vendor
Coverage area Customized Varies
Data rate Up to
19,200 bps Up to
Measured reliability About 99 percent 95 percent
Time to implement Long Short
Over the air Provided
by vendor Provided
by agency Controlled by
vendor and agency
Andrew Anagnos and Martin Lind are consultants with The Warner Group, a Woodland Hills, Calif.-based management consulting firm specializing in the public sector. They can be reached at 818/710-8855.
The authors thank Greg Walker, a consultant with The Warner Group, for his contributions to this article.
August Table of Contents | <urn:uuid:1266c2d8-0f22-431d-8853-b542f6da5163> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.govtech.com/magazines/gt/Catch-a-Mobile-Data-Network-to.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282631.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00089-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914328 | 1,954 | 2.515625 | 3 |
- Basic Rules
- Less is More
- Respect the Reader’s Time
- Break Up Your Text
- Be Polite
- Use Formatting to Improve Flow
- Make Your Writing Actionable
- Avoid Clichés
Writing is one of the most important life skills you can have. If you’re good at it, the world opens up to you. If you’re not, well, you need a guide like this one.
This will be short. There are many great books you can read, and courses you can take, on becoming a better writer. This isn’t that. This is a quick list of rules and guidelines that can sand your roughest edges, along with some resources to get you started if you want to improve further.
Here we’re going to cover what I consider to be the raw essentials for good writing in a business setting. Again, this won’t be comprehensive, but it should help you significantly if you’re not familiar with these concepts. The focus will be on email and other types of short business communication as opposed to writing long documents, but many of the rules will still apply.
The recurring theme here will be making your writing consumable. You don’t want people to dread reading something you’ve written. You want them to open it, glance at it, and be done with it before they knew what happened. That’s the key—make your writing highly consumable.
Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
It’s hard to overstate this rule, and it’s also hard to follow it. Whether you’re writing an email or doing a presentation, you want you points to be crisp. The more fluff you have surrounding them, the more dilluted they’ll be. Resist the temptation to add content, and work to remove more instead.
Try to take your ten paragraphs to five, and your three paragraphs to one. And if you find yourself with more than 20 presentation slides for anything other than a major, dedicated time slot, it’s time to start thinking seriously about what to cut.
It will be hard to force yourself to say less, as the natural tendency is to keep adding more to support your point. Don’t. Say it cleanly at first and let it stand on its own. There are exceptions, e.g., where you may need to have supporting documentation and data, but consider moving that content to an appendix where it can be consumed out of band from your main pitch.
If you follow the first rule, you’ll likely be o.k. here as well, but always keep in mind that your reader doesn’t have time to read what you’ve written. You have an extremely limited window in which to make your point, so don’t waste it with cruft.
Especially with email, be sure to keep your paragraphs only two to four lines long—for a small viewing window—or just a few sentences regardless. And break the paragraphs up distinctly by point. Don’t be afraid to use one short sentence as a paragraph if it is worth stressing.
For illustration of this point, check out a news story on CNN or somewhere: the paragraphs are 1-3 sentences. Why is that? Because if it becomes more than that, you’ve just assigned your reader work. That means your email will likely get deferred or skipped altogether.
People would much rather read five paragraphs of three short sentences each than two big paragraphs. The former lets them fly through quickly, while the latter imposes a burden. Don’t be a burden to your reader. Make it easy for them.
Always open with a greeting—even when you’ve spoken to that person recently, or you don’t have an extremely formal relationship. Starting off with a, “Hi Chris,” really does add an atmosphere of professionalism and style to semi-informal emails. Obviously, if it’s a more formal email you should go with a more formal greeting.
The key point here is to always be presenting—even in email. Greet the person, make your points quickly, and thank them for their time. This will make people much more likely to read your emails instead of ignoring them.
Ideally you wouldn’t be sending someone extremely long emails (see above), but sometimes it’s necessary. When this is the case, you still need to follow the less is more rule. You can do this by breaking the text into sections and following your rule of short paragraphs.
Use short headings to describe the section you’re talking about—maybe 2-3 point sizes larger than your body text—and only put 2-4 short paragraphs within each section.
Another important tip here is to use numbered and bulleted lists whenever possible to convey your points. If you have a choice between sending someone a quick intro and a bulleted list of items, or a few paragraphs describing those things—use the list.
Another thing to mention about formatting is that you should use CAPS, bolding, italics, and other text modifications judiciously. Salt is good, until everything tastes like salt.
One thing I try to do with my writing at work is make sure that I’m providing value in each interaction. Don’t just spew information in random directions; describe what your purpose is and then move towards that goal. Here’s an example:
I understand you’re looking for a way to get this invoice paid. Here’s what I suggest:
If you have any other questions, please do ping me and I’ll help you get this solved.
- Check with Tammy about using Acceron
- Ping Mike; he just went through this
- Also check their website for updates
Notice how short it is, while still being extremely helpful. If you go off on a tangent about how this or that happened, or how you need x or y, then you’re going to lose the reader quickly.
This is especially important in fiction writing, but it’s crucial in business writing as well. Don’t say “cutting edge”, or “best of breed”, or any of the other trampled sayings within your industry. People tend to want to use them because they’re common, but as soon as they become too common they hurt you rather than help you.
Find another way to state your point. The problem with clichés is that they create dead spots in the listeners ear. When they hear those keywords like “holistic marketecture” you’re basically communicating that you’re lazy and that they are free to tune out.
Don’t be lazy. Find another way to say it.
Typography is the visual component of the written word. ~ Matthew Butterick
Typography is one of the most neglected aspects of writing in general, and definitely of business writing. The one concept you must absorb on this point is that how things are packaged will affect how they are consumed.
We know this from other disciplines—marketing, wardrobe, dating, etc.—but most fail to apply it to how their writing appears to readers. Remember—you’re always presenting.
The most common typography mistakes
- Using a font that is too small: Make sure your font is between 11 and 14 pixels in size. If it’s too large it will appear cartoonish, and make your content appear so as well. And if it’s too small you’ve imposed a burden on your reader, which we know to be bad practice.
- Using an amateurish font: The first rule is to avoid certain fonts, which are plainly horrible, such as Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, and other more obvious ones like Comic Sans and Papyrus. To some people this is obvious; to others not so much.
If you have a company font that is available, that is well-vetted and conveys authority, consider using that as your email font, as well as the font for your documents. If not, consider using one of the following options: Century Schoolbook, Franklin, Garamond, or Optima. Also, you should have a slight preference towards serif fonts (those with the little connectors on each character) vs. sans serif options (those SANS those connectors).
- Having giant blocks of text: As mentioned above, you want to make sure your text is properly broken up so it’s easy to read. This is done by having short, crisp paragraphs, by using numbered and bulleted lists to convey information where appropriate, and by using headings where they can help define structure and breaking points in your ideas (for necessarily longer texts).
These are a few of the most common mistakes to avoid, but to really get an understanding you should read Matthew Butterick’s book on the subject, which I’ve included as one of only three recommended texts in the resources section.
Next I want to cover three resources that I consider indispensable for those who care about writing well. These are absolute must-reads. No exceptions. Reading these two books will improve your writing to an astonishing degree.
- Strunk and White: The Elements of Style
- Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace
- Butterick’s Practical Typography
The first two will improve your writing in general, with focus on how to say what you need to say as efficiently as possible. The third is the book on typography that I mentioned above. All three are strongly recommended.
I hope this guide has helped you. | <urn:uuid:d593577e-2436-48cb-860a-98acb3dbe491> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://danielmiessler.com/study/business_writing/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281421.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00025-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943518 | 2,052 | 2.625 | 3 |
Forest fires blazing through Arizona in May 2002 destroyed thousands of acres of land. Given the warm, dry, windy conditions typical of southwestern states, cities in this region accept that once started, fires will spread quickly and easily. It is critical that emergency response officials track the progress of these fires. Using satellite images, which illustrate the layout of the land and show everything -- roads, fire hydrants, vegetation, reservoirs -- that firefighters navigate on their way through a fire. They can also predict the path of a fire before it strikes, protecting residents from a future inferno.
In the early afternoon of May 15, a fire broke out near Indian Campground in the Prescott National Forest, approximately seven miles south of the city of Prescott. The temperature was in the 90s, with wind speeds reaching 25 mph. Fueled by extremely dry tree and ground cover, the fire quickly expanded and spread into the forest; within hours, the blaze came within three miles of the city. Although the fire was contained just two days later, it wasn't too early to prepare for the next inevitable attack.
Prescott's GIS department has been leading the city's research into reliable mapping and planning technologies. During the Indian fire, the GIS team supplied ground crews with an ability to visualize the terrain and road networks using two-year-old satellite imagery of the Prescott area. But the team recognized a need for more recent, higher resolution imagery to accurately assess post-fire conditions and support fire prevention efforts. Therefore, the city selected DigitalGlobe's half-meter resolution QuickBird images -- which offered a current view of the charred landscape and provided the detail and accuracy needed to thoroughly map the area.
The satellite images offer an accurate "big-picture look" at the local geography, according to Darrell Willis, Prescott's fire chief. "Much of the time, firefighters have to rely on hand-drawn maps. Unfortunately, hand-drawn maps just don't offer the perspective needed to assess the risks and resources needed to fight a fire," Willis said. "Detailed maps are especially important when we turn the management of a fire over to a type 1 national team. They're not as familiar with the area as we are and need to be aware of what's been evacuated, what's threatened and where the homes are."
Willis said the image detail allows his team to count at-risk structures and determine how many engines should be released to protect homes during a blaze. "We have a formula for calculating how many resources we need -- if we underestimate the number of homes in the fire's path, we won't send the appropriate resources. With the high-resolution images from space, we're ahead of the ball game, and firefighters can hit the ground running."
As a post-fire analysis tool, the QuickBird digital satellite images were essential for evaluating burn patterns, estimating the fire's speed based on wind conditions and determining possible ignition points. The extent of damage included approximately 1,300 acres of federal forestlands and 30 acres of private lands. Because the half-meter resolution of these images shows detail down to the house level, they illustrate precise damage to structures. The images indicated that only four residences were burned, one residence was partly damaged and one out-building was completely destroyed.
Although aerial imagery could have captured this information, satellite imagery made more sense because of its wide-area coverage and digital qualities. Airplanes are limited in their ability to capture images of a large area, so multiple images must be collected then pieced together later. In many cases, aerial imagery is collected in analog form. To make it useful later -- when detecting change or enabling quick sharing with other government offices -- analog imagery must be digitized. This often is time consuming and expensive. Digital satellite imagery can be used and shared immediately.
Looking forward, the satellite image maps will be valuable for preparing the city and its residents for the next fire. Images detailing vegetation conditions, road networks and population centers help city agencies and relief organizations understand the area's rapidly changing conditions. Information about vegetation health and drought stress allows officials to determine which areas are most prone to fire danger, thus predicting the likely path of a fire and developing strategies to contain it. The city can prepare high-risk residents by warning them about fire dangers and supplying them with maps showing evacuation routes. If roads are closed, residents know their safest emergency escape in advance.
Prescott City Manager Larry Asaro cites public safety as the biggest driver for routine mapping. "For fires and other emergency situations, we need fast access to accurate information about the entire area," he said. "For example, by knowing where all the new roads are, and even the roads that are hidden from normal ground view, fire-fighting personnel will see all the possible approaches to a fire. The timeliness and quality of the new satellite images are critical in these situations.
"Flooding is always a concern after a fire because the vegetation has been destroyed, and there's a greater risk of water runoff and erosion," Asaro continued. "The satellite imagery can help us estimate the amount and location of erosion risks."
Satellite images provide a terrific visual depiction of the terrain, vegetation and urbanization. However, it is their integration with GIS that gives them versatility. Used in GIS and overlain with data showing street centerlines, property boundaries, building footprints, and gas and electric lines, the imagery takes on a life of its own and becomes a planning utility for numerous purposes.
From a data-sharing perspective, Asaro said satellite imagery helps address the need for accurate data in a GIS. "Our GIS is shared by different departments that rely on up-to-date parcel maps. These maps are the cornerstone of our data pool; underneath the maps are data layers containing information about vegetation, traffic, water, street centerlines, road surface quality, etc. The satellite imagery ensures that our underlying data is as accurate as possible." When new images are captured, their digital nature allows easy change detection and quick database updates.
For the city of Prescott, the Indian fire was a wake-up call; many areas are susceptible to disastrous fire damage. The use of image-based GIS operations gives firefighting personnel an advantage by providing updated satellite imagery for ongoing support of firefighting and prevention efforts.
Dale Anderson is GIS coordinator for the city of Prescott, Ariz. | <urn:uuid:39fa8edc-0ab3-4044-91b0-2bca050024ad> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.govtech.com/magazines/gt/100585989.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00540-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951081 | 1,299 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Apple has been experimenting with wearable computing concepts that combine a wrist display or other peripheral that connects wirelessly to a user's iPhone, according to a new New York Times report. One such concept is a curved glass display device that fits on the wrist and is controlled via Siri.
Reportedly, "very small group of Apple employees" have been working on such concepts for some time. That group was likely led by wearable computing expert Richard DeVaul, who was hired in March 2010 to serve as the company's "senior prototype scientist." However, DeVaul was hired away by Google this past June to work on similar wearable computing ideas in its "X Labs" skunkworks.
Wearable computing concepts are nothing new, but previous efforts in this field often involved shrunken desktop computers that had to be worn on a special belt or backpack. Newer concepts leverage smartphones as a central "brain," as researchers note smartphone users are rarely more than three feet away from their device at any given time throughout the day. | <urn:uuid:848a323f-aa88-40b2-8fdf-8c8b5f686481> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://arstechnica.com/apple/2011/12/apple-experimenting-with-iphone-peripherals-for-wearable-computing/?comments=1 | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281424.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00448-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983433 | 205 | 2.671875 | 3 |
If you have an Internet of Things device, then it’s highly likely that you are using ZigBee whether you know it or not. There are other possibilities, including that your IoT devices use the Z-Wave protocol, which was beat up a couple ago by security researchers who used it to attack automated homes. ZigBee is a wireless standard used for connectivity to controls IoT devices. It’s used in “tens of millions of smart meters” and there are 1,088 items listed as ZigBee Certified products. It depends who you listen to, I suppose, as to whether you believe ZigBee is great or if ZigBee is a great threat to the Internet of Things due to critical wireless security flaws that can be exploited to compromise smart lights, door locks, motion sensors, smart switches, temperature sensors, HVAC systems and other “smart” home devices.
Li Jun and Yang Qing of Qihoo360's Unicorn team, presented “I’m A Newbie Yet I Can Hack ZigBee – Take Unauthorized Control Over ZigBee Devices” (pdf) at Dec Con 23. Their goal was to teach users to hack ZigBee as well as to teach users techniques to prevent hackers – or anyone without authorization – from taking control of their ZigBee-enabled appliances; they showed how to find the encryption key in firmware and sniff the network key as it is sent in plaintext.
But that wasn’t the only talk to beat up ZigBee as Tobias Zillner, senior IS auditor at IT security firm Cognosec, also warned that hackers could compromise ZigBee networks and then “take over control of all connected devices on a network.” Zillner presented “ZigBee Exploited the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” at Black Hat USA (slides pdf). Network encryption keys are briefly transmitted in the clear when a new device joins the network. Some devices use the default master key, meaning that is what is transmitted when a new device is added to the network. The key could be captured by an attacker or a thief who could, for example, pull an open sesame on a smart door lock.
Back in 2013, Philips Hue light bulbs were dubbed “highly hackable” after a researcher injected malware into the Hue bridge and blacked out the lights. The smart bulbs constantly search for new devices to pair with, Cognosec researchers said, which makes them easy to reset to factory defaults. An attacker can capture the unencrypted key transmitted by the Hue bulb when it reboots.
Cognosec researchers wrote, “If an attacker is able to sniff a device and join using the default link key, the active network key is compromised and the confidentiality of the whole network communication can be considered as compromised.” They added, “Key secrecy should not be the foundation of ZigBee product’s security architecture.”
That doesn’t mean you should avoid ZigBee-enabled devices like the plague. The “security features provided by ZigBee standard can be considered as very strong and robust,” Cognosec wrote in its white paper (pdf). “ZigBee encryption is based on the well-known AES algorithm for data encryption and data authentication. The security is dependent on the secrecy of the encryption keys as well as their secure initialization and distribution of the encryption keys.”
The problem is the weak way ZigBee is implemented by vendors in a race to sell Internet-connected gadgets. Some vendors don’t give a thought to security and “implement the minimum of the features required to be certified.” That may help keep costs down, but Zillner said it is “essential for security” to fulfill the following “preconditions on the implementation side:”
- Device tampering: “A tamper-resistant node could erase the sensitive information including the security keys if tampering is detected.”
- Key transport: “The default TC link key should not be used since this key is considered as public knowledge and therefore provides the same level of security as unencrypted key transport.”
- Key establishment: “The master keys used during key establishment shall be distributed via out-of-band channels.” That could be accomplished by something as simple as a sticker with the master key being attached to the device for the user to enter during setup.
- Key rotation: “The security of the communication is dependent on the secrecy of the network key and of the link keys. The network key shall be changed periodically. Key management in the form of changing the network key in a meaningful time period or after a certain number of messages should be introduced. Otherwise known plaintext or other attacks on the security of AES may be possible.”
After the attack on ZigBee at the hacker conferences, the ZigBee Alliance issued a long statement published in full on Engadget.
Remember back when David Petraeus was the CIA Director and he said the CIA couldn’t wait to spy on Americans via their smart appliances? Cognosec researchers quoted Petraeus as saying, “Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters - all connected to the next-generation internet.”
There are serious privacy requirements when it comes to home automation as it generates massive amounts of personalized data. You pay high dollar for smart devices, yet you then have to hand over massive permissions to the same vendors in order to the use a smartphone app to control the device you already paid for! That alone is crazy cause it’s not like they gave you the device for free, but they still slurp and store all your data as if it is the cost for a free product. Gartner predicted there will be over 500 smart devices per household by 2022, so vendors need to take privacy and security seriously, instead issuing statements after they are hacked about how much they care about security and users’ privacy.
Nevertheless, if you were bit by the IoT bug and want to know which platform is a good bet…the IoT company SmartThings, which was acquired by Samsung last year, has now joined the ZigBee Alliance which intends to put all forms of ZigBee under one ZigBee 3.0 standard. SmartThings is hacker-friendly and seemed to be a real contender in the smart home platform arena. At CES 2015, SmartThings announced that a new SmartThings hub and sensors would be available in the second quarter of this year. In March, SmartThings said those devices weren’t ready and changed the projected release to the third quarter which started in July and ends on September 30. There was some speculation that Samsung, or the battery backup function, was behind the delay.
SmartThings has teased potential hub 2.0 buyers with a few images, but that is about it. A week ago, SmartThings said there are still no official specs for 2.0 yet. You are no doubt impatient if you’ve been waiting for it since the announcement at CES, but the new release is still supposedly coming this quarter. | <urn:uuid:8cb0f5d1-3689-4849-9b27-851dd28c9802> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.networkworld.com/article/2969402/microsoft-subnet/researchers-exploit-zigbee-security-flaws-that-compromise-security-of-smart-homes.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00476-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946088 | 1,483 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Cloud Data Encryption
A Guide to Cloud Encryption and SaaS Security
Cloud encryption is commonly used to prevent unauthorized access to private information, protect sensitive data stored in the cloud, and enhance security for outgoing data that leaves a secured network.
Cloud Encryption Defined
Encryption is a process used to protect information in transit and storage, including sensitive data processed and stored through networks, the internet, and mobile and wireless systems. It uses an algorithmic scheme to transform plain text information into a non-readable form called ciphertext. The reverse process, decryption, decodes the information from its encrypted form back to plain text. To prevent unauthorized access to plain text data, the mathematical algorithm requires a secret value, called a key, in order to encrypt or decrypt the data properly. Cloud encryption is used to safeguard sensitive information stored and processed through networks, the internet, and mobile and wireless devices.
In the cloud, encryption algorithms are used to protect outgoing data, so that information is not vulnerable once it’s outside an enterprise. Data encryption is commonly used to achieve compliance with industry regulations, including HIPAA and PCI DSS and is an essential cloud data security tool for organizations using popular SaaS applications, such as Salesforce.com and Oracle.
Cloud Data Encryption Strength
Cloud application users have choices when it comes to the strength of their encryption solutions, and standards have emerged across jurisdictions and industries to provide consistency and a level of assurance. In the U.S., FIPS 140-2 is the federal government encryption standard, and many commercial businesses now follow it because of its maturity and strong level of encryption.
Cloud Encryption with the Blue Coat Platform
Cloud Encryption can be used within the Blue Coat Cloud Data Protection Gateway to protect data – both at rest and in the cloud – from unauthorized access.
The Blue Coat Cloud Data Protection Gateway uses cloud encryption and tokenization to provide a vital level of SaaS security without sacrificing application functionality. And here is a key point related to Blue Coat encryption strategies: Our solution does not depend on any proprietary encryption modules or “Function Preserving Encryption” to preserve the essential SaaS application functionality users need. Blue Coat customers are free to install any cryptographic module supported via an Blue CoatCrypto Connector, including those that are FIPS 140-2 certified. In fact, we are the only cloud security company that supports FIPS 140-2 validated encryption modules while simultaneously preserving critical SaaS functionality.
For organizations that decide to implement cloud encryption, another important consideration is ownership of the encryption keys. The Cloud Security Alliance recently published guidance on best practices for implementing cloud encryption and they highlighted this important consideration stating “based on the Segregation of Duties security principle, key management should be separated from the cloud provider hosting the data. This provides the greatest protection both against external breach of the service provider as well as an attack originating from a privileged user/employee of the provider. Additionally, this segregation of duties prevents the cloud provider from unauthorized disclosure of customer data, such as compliance with a subpoena, without the customer knowledge or approval. The customers should retain complete control over their data and only they should be able to comply with disclosure requests.” | <urn:uuid:f14c76c9-7e3b-4a1f-9580-8d5d558930b2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.bluecoat.com/resources/cloud-data-protection/encryption | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279248.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00018-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.895515 | 658 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The Palyh Worm Appears As A Communique From Microsoft
19 May 2003
Kaspersky Lab, an international data security software developer, reports the detection of a new network worm named "Palyh", which is spreading via email and local area networks while masquerading as a communiqu� from Microsoft's technical support. Presently, infections at the hands of Palyh have already been confirmed in several countries.
Palyh gains access to targeted computers as an attached file or writes itself to systems via local area networks. The worm becomes active when an unsuspecting user opens the attached file carrying the infected code; once this is done Palyh infects the computer and starts its spreading routine.
When installing, the Palyh worm copies itself into the Windows directory under the name MSCCN32.EXE and registers this file in the system registry's auto-run key so that it is placed into system memory and automatically launched upon operating system start-up. Due to certain errors in its code, sometimes Palyh copies itself into a different directory and therefore occasionally the auto-run function is not triggered.
Next, the work begins its spreading routine. To do so via e-mail, Palyh scans for files with the extensions TXT, EML, HTML, HTM, DBX, WAB, and selects lines from them that it believes to be e-mail addresses. Then Palyh circumvents the installed e-mail program to use the SMTP server to send out copies of itself to the found e-mail addresses.
All infected e-mail messages sent out by the worm contain the falsified address firstname.lastname@example.org, though they contain various subject lines, body texts and attached file names. All infected file attachments use the file extensions .PI or .PIF (for example - PASSWORD.PIF), although the files are actually ordinary EXE files. Palyh takes advantage of the false impression users have that PIF files are not dangerous as well as a weakness in Windows. It is well known to virus creators that the Windows operating system does not process files according to their extensions, but rather by their internal formats.
To spread via local area networks Palyh scans other network computers and copies itself to the Windows auto-run folders (if it exists on a given computer).
In general it is not possible to refer to Palyh as dangerous. However it has an array of features that pose a potential danger to those using infected computers. The worm is has the ability to load additional components from a remote web-server. By doing so, Palyh can clandestinely install new versions of itself or impregnate infected systems with spyware programs.
Palyh's author built into the program a temporary trigger - All worm routines other than the updating feature are active only until May 31, 2003. This particularity effectively dooms Palyh however, as the server from which it downloads its updates will be closed in the near future.
The defense against this malicious program has already been added to the Kaspersky Anti-Virus database.
More details about the Palyh network worm can be found in the Kaspersky Virus Encyclopedia | <urn:uuid:c251f87a-7695-48e1-80df-08da4af27a16> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.kaspersky.com/au/about/news/virus/2003/The_Palyh_Worm_Appears_As_A_Communique_From_Microsoft | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00136-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927293 | 658 | 2.625 | 3 |
All operating systems have security vulnerabilities, but as least Linux vulnerabilities are found and patched quickly. Right? Read on to find out just how vulnerable you can be.
Articles by Jay Beale
The typical Linux system incorporates several background daemons to perform various tasks. However, some of these daemons may leave your system vulnerable to outside attacks. Learn how to minimize your risks.
Install a file integrity checking like Tripwire and you will never again have to guess whether you have been hacked. This article by Jay Beale explains the functionality of Tripwire as well as how to install and use it.
Even if you patch your system regularly and follow all security updates, you can still be vulnerable. This article delves into the levels of hackers and why extra security is a must.
In this article, I'll introduce Linux/Unix file permissions, root privilege and the SUID path to root. Then I'll help you run a SUID audit on your system, using Red Hat 6.2 as an example. | <urn:uuid:19ef75d8-7ab2-46ac-bf9d-0f7c11d34923> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/author/65830/Jay-Beale | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00440-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945564 | 209 | 2.625 | 3 |
Task Criticality and Scoring
A high percentage of standard knowledge-based tests are scored with each question or item being equal in the number of points counted toward the final score. In knowledge-based testing, this scoring method is appropriate, and it simplifies the test-design process.
As testing methodology moves along the spectrum from knowledge- to performance-based, however, it is often appropriate to give items different weight, depending on the criticality of the task being tested. In addition, an item might be partially scored based on the correct steps that were taken to perform a task, or no credit is given for item unless a correct end state is achieved.
I’ll put on my techie hat again and use some examples from the realm of information technology to explain what I’m talking about. For example, I design a performance-based item that tests for the ability to create a user on a database application and assign that user privileges to access specific data. There are many steps that are required to complete this task.
In the real world, this is a fundamental competency for a database administrator job role but strictly for purposes of this example, it is one that is not critical for the database administrator job role. What I might decide to do for this item is give partial credit for the correct steps taken toward creating the user, assigning a password, giving access and assigning privileges. Adding to this, each subtask can be equal in score or weighted differently.
On the other hand, a critical competency for a database administrator job role is the ability to successfully recover from a database failure without losing data. In this situation, the item can be very complex, but I will give credit only for the item if the candidate successfully completes all tasks. Because there can be many types of failure scenarios, some being more complex than others, I might decide to give items different weight within the same test.
Deciding how to score performance-based items based on the criticality of tasks can be a complex process, but in many cases, it enhances the relevancy and validity of the test.
I’m sure there are numerous methods for determining task criticality, but a few that I’ve employed in test design include conducting a thorough job-task analysis (JTA), defining a concise objective domain for tasks to be tested, engaging a large pool of subject-matter experts and conducting one or more pilot events with candidates who are representative of the target audience.
Describing the process for conducting a JTA is a long discussion in of itself, so I’ll exclude the details in this column. A thorough JTA is extremely beneficial because it helps establish the domain of tasks that are performed in a specific job role. The JTA also helps establish the face validity of the test. (For a discussion of face validity, see my previous column, at http://www.certmag.com/articles/templates/cmag_nl_credentials_content.asp?articleid=969&zoneid=98.)
A successful JTA requires input from subject-matter experts who participate in the job role for the intended audience. The output of the JTA contributes to the design of the objective domain.
The objective domain defines the objectives that will be tested. In performance testing, the objectives are task-based. In the previous example about creating a user, there are multiple task-based objectives within one item: create a user, assign privileges to a user, etc. The same holds true with the failure scenario. The objective domain is used to establish the exam blueprint, which dictates what objectives will be tested and is used to determine the criticality of the tasks.
One method of determining criticality is engaging a large pool of subject-matter experts in weighting each task. The test designer then establishes a consistent weighting for each task. At this point, the test designer and developers can begin constructing the test.
For purposes of this column, I’ll skip the development process and move to the point where the test is ready for a pilot. In one high-end performance test I developed, I conducted numerous pilot events. During each test event, subject-matter experts took the test in a live environment and provided feedback on each item. This data was used to refine the scoring, determine criticality and adjust timing. My recommendation is to account for this activity in the overall exam development cycle, particularly with performance-based tests.
There are undoubtedly many methods and processes for determining item scoring and criticality. The methods and processes I use are appropriate for the types of performance tests I develop. They are adaptable, however, and can be generally applied to exam-development activities. The key point is that due diligence is required to ensure the quality, validity and relevance of the test. | <urn:uuid:ba368efc-1f35-4342-b36b-80b67ce1ae46> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://certmag.com/task-criticality-and-scoring/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00348-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92237 | 984 | 2.671875 | 3 |
A patch panel is a panel designed for the management of cable connections, used as the central point in a network where all the network cables terminate. Typically, the panel is the termination point of network cabling drops that are installed in a office or residential cabling system. Patch panels are commonly found in Ethernet networks, making Cat5 patch panel and Cat6 patch panel the most common, but patch panels can be used in many other applications.
Category 6 cable (Cat6) is the 6th generation of twisted pair Ethernet cabling by ANSI/EIA/TIA Cat6 cable has a bandwidth of up to 250MHz and is ideal for supporting 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Cat6 cable is backward compatible with the Cat5, Cat5e, and other lower cable standard and features with more strict specifications for crosstalk and system noise. It can be used for 10BASE-T Ethernet, 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet, 1000BASE-T/1000BASE-TX (Gigabit Ethernet) and 10GBASE-T (10-Gigabit Ethernet).
Cat6 patch panels, are modular design and fit for the 19 inch standard equipment. The cat6 patch panel performance is according to and far exceed TIA/EIA568B.2 standard, fit to use with different kinds of category 6 wires and accessories. Cat6 patch panel features high-density and provides the performance needed for present and next generation data communications networks and applications. These high-density panels are available in 12- through 72-port versions and feature enhanced front and rear labeling features for easy circuit identification.
Cat6 patch panels are constructed for maximum strength and durability and feature a fully enclosed, 6-port modular design, which provides flexibility and protection of printed circuitry during termination. A newly designed RJ-45 contact configuration provides enhanced plug to telephone jack connection integrity for superior reliability. Rear termination is made quick and easy using a 4-pair inline 110 type connector compatible with our Cat6 multi-pair impact tool to reduce installation time or an industry standard single position 110 or Krone termination tool.
On the front side of a patch panel there are jacks designed to receive short patch cables, while on the back of the panel there are either jacks or punch down blocks that receive the connections of longer and more permanent cables. The assembly of hardware is arranged so that a number of circuits appear on jacks for monitoring, interconnecting, and testing in a convenient and flexible manner. This offers the convenience of allowing technicians to quickly change the circuit of select signals without the use of expensive dedicated switching equipment. Patch panels are typically rack mountable, although some are designed to be mounted directly onto a wall.
Cat6 patch panels are designed to for high speed LAN (Local Area Networking) transmission rates up to 1 Gigabit and exceed TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1 component, permanent link and channel level performance specifications providing usable bandwidth beyond 250MHz and are backward compatible with lower level cabling systems. Cat6 patch panels support both T568Aand T568B wiring configurations using an easy to read color-coded wiring label.
The Cat6 patch panel has many advantages. First, it helps gather the different category6 wires together into one panel. Second, the color coding make the organizing of cables(like Cat6a cable, cat 7 cable) easy and the whole system neat, and cable distribution is easy. Third, they are in standard size and could fit different kinds of 19 inch devices. Commercial and residential contractors and installers turn CAT 6 to future proof network infrastructures. | <urn:uuid:8a1a5a9a-a0f4-4848-8ad0-3864c2b9c4ae> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.fs.com/blog/the-promising-cat6-patch-panel.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281226.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00494-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902897 | 737 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Viruses change the attributes of a file or folder, such as the read, write, or execute permission, making such files or folders extremely hard to access. In order to recover a file, we can change the attributes of a file and reset the file’s internal structure. Thats why it is a great tool to know how to remove one using CMD. Amar Shekhar, writer for FossBytes, gives us the low down.
A virus can present itself in your system as a file format that can be hidden from a user, present in a form ‘autorun’ or ‘autoexec’, an exec file or a file with different attribute properties. Examples of such would be, Autorun.inf, Ravmon.exe, New Folder.exe, and svchost.exe. So how do you remove a virus using CMD from any USB ? Assuming you are already on Windows 10 that is.
Using the cmd command called ‘attrib’ command, will change the attributes of a file, folder, or directory responsible for display, setting and removing attributes such as read-only and archive.
Say there is a virus on your drive.
Run command prompt as administrator.
Change the drive to the one with the virus, in the case of the researcher this is the D drive. Then press Enter.
Type attrib and press enter. This command lists all of the files inside the current drive, which makes it easy to identify which is housing the autorun.info virus.
To remove the Virus using CMD, type into your command prompt, attrib -r -a -s -h *.* and press Enter. This removes the read only, archive, system and hidden file attribute from all the files.
- -r is for removing the read-only files
- -a is for removing the archive file
- -s is for removing the system file
- -h is for removing the hidden file
- *.* for all the files with all different types of file extensions
To delete the virus, type del autorun.inf and Enter
- Once you have pressed enter, that file should get deleted from the current drive. In case, you want to delete that file from a USB stick, then you can change your current drive to USB drive current drive in step 2 and follow the commands.
- You can again type ‘attrib’ command to see if the deleted file exists or not. As seen above, it does not exist anymore in the D drive.
- To remove other viruses with extensions such as ‘.ink’, ‘.exe’, just type Del *.ink or Del *.exe respectively to delete those suspicious files.
If you would like to educate yourself in more detail about the information presented in this blog post please visit : http://fossbytes.com | <urn:uuid:69641640-9022-4078-a798-b64c82ca6fbc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.bvainc.com/remove-a-virus-using-cmd/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00128-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917642 | 598 | 2.875 | 3 |
NEC Offers Up Cooling Technology for Racks in Data Centers
NEC officials say the company has developed data center cooling technology that can drive down the power consumption of air conditioners by as much as 50 percent.
The company announced the multistage technology Sept. 3, with officials saying that it not only efficiently removes the heat generated by compute resources installed in racks, but that it uses a coolant that has a low impact on the environment.
The phase-change cooling technology—which is based on the nature of a coolant that works by removing large amounts of heat when they turn from liquid to vapor—is an offshoot of similar techniques that NEC has developed that is installed in the systems themselves. Now data center administrators can apply the same techniques to racks of systems, company officials said.
The trick with NEC’s technology is that the heat from the systems is collected before it’s dispersed, and then sent directly to the outside of the server room, which lessens the demand on the air conditioners that are commonplace in data centers. According to company officials, in tests at an NEC facility that housed 10 servers, about half of the heat coming out of the back of a rack was sent to the outside of the server room.
The cooling technology not only lets data center administrators reduce the amount of energy their air conditioners use, but also enables them to put more devices into the racks without having to increase the amount of air conditioning they use or the floor space to hold the systems, according to company officials.
The ability to cool the data center by removing the heat from the devices in the rack by turning liquid coolant into vapor is one of the key parts of the offering, according to NEC officials. In addition, the company has developed a flow path for the coolant that allows for the appropriate amount of coolant to be supplied to each level of the rack via natural circulation, which means high reliability and low costs, the company said.
NEC officials also said the coolant used—they didn’t name what it is—is environmentally friendly, won’t add to the woes of the ozone layer and offers a good balance between efficient cooling and low environmental impact. | <urn:uuid:d7b664d3-221c-476a-96db-703b80e3ff39> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.eweek.com/blogs/first-read/nec-offers-up-cooling-technology-for-racks-in-data-centers.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280280.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00036-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957858 | 452 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Primary Key: a relational database constraint. Primary key consists of one or more columns that uniquely identify a row in the table. For a normalized relation, there is one designated primary key.
Unique index: a physical object that stores only unique values. There can be one or more unique indexes on a table. | <urn:uuid:cb92464a-feb9-4bc5-8daf-f9f5c9fdf8eb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ibmmainframes.com/about5855.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00147-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.813625 | 62 | 3.25 | 3 |
Bastl K.,Medical University of Vienna |
Kmenta M.,Medical University of Vienna |
Kmenta M.,University of Vienna |
Pessi A.-M.,University of Turku |
And 9 more authors.
Science of the Total Environment | Year: 2016
Background: The level of symptoms in pollen allergy sufferers and users of the Patient's Hayfever Diary (PHD), does not directly reflect the total amount of pollen in the air. It is necessary to explain the symptom load and thus the development of allergic symptoms and to determine which environmental factors, besides the pollen load, influence variables. It seems reasonable to suspect allergen content because the amount of allergen varies throughout seasons and regions and is not always correlated with the total pollen amount. Methods: Data on the allergen content of ambient air (Bet v 1 and Phl p 5) from 2009 until 2011 was used to compare the respective pollen and symptom loads for study regions in Austria, Germany, France and Finland. Results: Our findings suggest that allergen amount (Bet v 1/Phl p 5) has a strong but regionally dependent impact on the symptom load of pollen allergy sufferers. Peak symptom loads can be traced with peak allergen loads. The influence of other important aeroallergens should also be assessed during the pollen season. Conclusion: Allergen concentrations have an impact on pollen allergy sufferers although not as clear as assumed previously. The pattern of pollen load and major allergen content distribution does not directly explain the symptom load pattern, although significant positive correlations were found. Thus, monitoring of symptoms via voluntary crowdsourcing should be considered for future pollen and symptom forecasts in order to support pollen allergy sufferers. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. Source | <urn:uuid:1d917bc9-b886-40ac-b624-75f42d9385a1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.linknovate.com/affiliation/allergy-center-charite-700419/all/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00147-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908946 | 365 | 2.546875 | 3 |
220.127.116.11 What is an iterated block cipher?
Iterated block ciphers encrypt a plaintext block by a process that has several rounds. In each round, the same transformation (also known as a round function) is applied to the data using a subkey. The set of subkeys is usually derived from the user-provided secret key by a special function. The set of subkeys is called the key schedule. The number of rounds in an iterated cipher depends on the desired security level and the consequent tradeoff with performance. In most cases, an increased number of rounds will improve the security offered by a block cipher, but for some ciphers the number of rounds required to achieve adequate security will be too large for the cipher to be practical or desirable.
Feistel ciphers [Fei73] are a special class of iterated block ciphers where the ciphertext is calculated from the plaintext by repeated application of the same transformation or round function. Feistel ciphers are sometimes called DES-like ciphers (see Section 3.2).
In a Feistel cipher (see Figure 2.1), the text being encrypted is split into two halves. The round function f is applied to one half using a subkey and the output of f is XORed with the other half. The two halves are then swapped. Each round follows the same pattern except for the last round where there is no swap.
A nice feature of a Feistel cipher is that encryption and decryption are structurally identical, though the subkeys used during encryption at each round are taken in reverse order during decryption. More precisely, the input in the decryption algorithm is the pair (Rr,Lr) instead of the pair (L0, R0) (notations as in Figure 2.1), and the ith subkey is kr-i+1, not ki. This means that we obtain (Rr-i, Lr-i) instead of (Li, Ri) after the ith round. For example, R1 is replaced with
Rr ÅF(kr,Lr) = Rr ÅF(kr,Rr-1) = Rr Å(Rr ÅLr-1) = Lr-1.
It is of course possible to design iterative ciphers that are not Feistel ciphers, yet whose encryption and decryption (after a certain re-ordering or re-calculation of variables) are structurally the same. Some examples are IDEA (see Question 3.6.7) and several of the candidates for the AES (see Section 3.3). | <urn:uuid:e466589a-e87d-4d42-b207-242bcac8617d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.emc.com/emc-plus/rsa-labs/standards-initiatives/what-is-an-iterated-block-cipher.htm | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280086.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00083-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92942 | 563 | 3.78125 | 4 |
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover resumed work on Monday after being in safe mode for nine days.
While NASA engineers have not fixed what is thought to be the software issue that caused the robotic rover to put itself into a protective mode, they believe they pinpointed the problem.
Using information the rover transmitted back to Earth, NASA engineers determined that the problem stemmed from a "mismatch" in systems involved in transferring data.
"Science activity planning for the rover is avoiding use of that mode, which involves writing images from some cameras' memories into files on the rover's main computer," the space agency reported in an online update.
Curiosity's engineers are bypassing the software glitch by using an alternate means of handling and transmitting images.
The rover, which landed on Mars in August 2012, is now back to full operations on the lower levels of Mount Sharp.
Curiosity has been working on Mars to determine whether the planet was ever able to sustain life - even in microbial form.
The robotic rover, which is equipped with cameras, a drill and scientific instruments, successfully achieved that initial goal soon after beginning work by finding evidence of abundant ancient, fresh water lakes and rivers.
Curiosity also found evidence that Mars has key chemicals needed for life.
The rover, which has a robotic partner, Opportunity, also working on Mars, recently received a two-year extension to continue its planetary exploration.
This story, "NASA rover Curiosity is back at work on Mars" was originally published by Computerworld. | <urn:uuid:88c47b9a-e949-4614-8a03-a9148be4fb67> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.itnews.com/article/3094500/space-technology/nasa-rover-curiosity-is-back-at-work-on-mars.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283008.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00201-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960166 | 306 | 3.25 | 3 |
An FCC proposal to allocate spectrum for wireless health monitoring devices could lead to the development of products that may lower healthcare costs and improve outcomes for patients, the head of the agency said today.
“This new monitoring technology will result in higher-quality care and also lower healthcare costs,” FCC Chief Julius Genachowski said during a press conference at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.
For instance, wireless sensors don't have to be replaced when a patient is moved from one area of the hospital to another. This alone could result in $1.2 billion in annual savings, Genachowski said.
The plan will go up for a vote at the FCC’s May 24 open meeting. Genachowski’s remarks provided few new details about the proposal, which was listed on the FCC’s meeting agenda when it was announced earlier this month.
If approved, the spectrum would open the door to the development of wireless sensors that can detect heart rate, blood pressure and other indications of a patient's condition.
Representatives from George Washington University Hospital, Philips Healthcare and GE Healthcare also spoke at the event.
Michael Harsh, chief technology officer at GE Healthcare, said the technology would not only make it easier to monitor patients, but could help reduce infections, since cables used to connect monitors can harbor disease-causing bacteria.
“Healthcare providers will be able to deliver better care and save lives with this technology,” he said.
Further, the technology will free patients from the tangle of cords currently used to connect sensors.
"I can't even get my stethoscope on the chest anymore. There's just no room," said Richard Katz, director of George Washington University Hospital's division of cardiology.
The sensors can also track patients after they leave the hospital, providing doctors with critical information on the progress of their recovery.
The technology is still in the early stages of development, but it is expected to comprise a sensor attached to a patient, which is in turn connected to a handset-type device located on or near the user – picture a cell phone in a holster.
The receiver will transmit information about patient vital signs to the relevant healthcare provider, which in turn can use it as an early warning system for conditions such as diabetes and heart attacks.
Medical body area networks have been in the works for years. The FCC issued a proposal on the technology in 2009 looking at which bands could be used for the technology while protecting incumbent users in the aviation industry.
The agency did not specify in its open meeting notice which spectrum bands it will open for the devices – several different bands were cited in its notice of proposed rulemaking three years ago – but Genachowski said today the sensors would run on spectrum currently used almost exclusively by commercial test pilots.
A recent joint filing by a group of healthcare providers and the Aerospace Flight Test Coordinating Council recommended the sensors run on the 2.36-2.4 GHz band.
The FCC's expected order will set up medical body area networks spectrum and service rules and will solicit comment on an appropriate coordinator for the technology.
An FCC proposal to allocate spectrum for wireless health monitoring devices could lead to the development of products that may lower healthcare costs and improve outcomes for patients. | <urn:uuid:84c37547-8002-416a-9844-ce843b521a60> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.cedmagazine.com/print/news/2012/05/fcc-set-to-advance-mhealth | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00321-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95432 | 668 | 2.625 | 3 |
Understanding H.323�Part IV: Testing System Interoperability
In our previous three tutorials on the H.323 standarddeveloped by the International Telecommunications UnionTelecommunications Standard Sector (ITU-T) to support multimedia communicationwe explored the history and architecture of that standard, and the various protocols that are required to support the terminal functions, and how H.323 signaling is used to establish and disconnect H.323 connections. In this tutorial, we will consider some of the interoperability issues that need to be addressed for a successful H.323 implementation, and some of the guidelines that have been developed to assist network managers with that implementation challenge. Let's begin with a brief history lesson for anyone that has not been through a multi-vendor interoperability war.
When local area networks (LANs) became popular in the early 1980s, there were two network standards: Ethernet, developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Intel Corporation, and Xerox Corporation, (collectively known as "DIX"), and the IEEE 802.3 standard developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
The DIX Ethernet standard was developed first, and then subsequently handed off to the IEEE, who used it for a baseline for the development of the 802.3 LAN standard. As one might expect, the IEEE saw room for improvement in the earlier Ethernet work, and made some changes that affected both the electrical (hardware) interface, and the protocol (software) operation.
As a result, workstations adhering to the earlier Ethernet standard were not likely to be able to communicate with the newer IEEE 802.3 standard. To make matters even more complicated, enterprising vendors took it upon themselves to tweak either of these standards to gain an advantage over the rest of the crowd. For example, one vendor would boost the output drivers at the transmitter, and therefore permit a longer run of cable between workstations. This may have given them a leg up on the competition, but it didn't make the network management job any easier, as a mixture of Ethernet-compliant and IEEE 802.3-compliant workstations might not work together on the same LAN. If you throw in a mix of vendors, some of which have strictly adhered to the published standard, and others that have tweaked it for marketing advantage, life for the network manager got even more complicated.
The industry response to these earlier interoperability wars was to develop consortiums of interested parties, including product developers, manufacturers, network managers, and end users, that would participate in the development of multi-vendor interoperability test suites. After that test suite had been developed and preliminarily tested, vendors were invited to a central location to test their products on the same network, and alongside those of their competition, and see who could communicate with whom. In most cases, the results of these tests remain proprietary to the participants, with the idea being that the information gleaned will be used to correct, modify, or improve products, not bash the competition.
As we have seen in the previous tutorials, H.323 is actually a suite of standards, with a number of elements under the H.323 "umbrella," including the ITU-T H.225.0 and H.245 standards, reliance upon the IETF Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP), and other Internet-derived protocols, plus audio and video encoding standards such as G.711 and H.263. For example, if your video conferencing system won't communicate with my video conferencing terminal, is it my fault or yours? Is there a problem with the signaling parameters that are attempting to establish the call? Is my audio codec, plus all of its parameters, compatible with yours? What about the data and video side? Are we operating at the same transmission rate, and with compatible protocol parameters? As you can quickly conclude, the interoperability challenge with these multimedia systems could be an order of magnitude more challenging than the earlier days of Ethernet vs. IEEE 802.3.
Help on the way
Fortunately, some well thought out plans have been crafted by a trade group called the International Multimedia Teleconferencing Consortium (IMTC), that are available to guide the industry through this interoperability jungle. The IMTC is an organization of ISPs and application developers, equipment vendors and telcos, end users and standards organizations, plus any other party interested in making sure that these complex multimedia systems can actually communicate with each other. The IMTC organizes interoperability testing events several times per year, which are open to interested product developers. Of perhaps more interest to network managers is the H.323 Interoperability Test Plan that the group has developed, and which is available at www.imtc.org/interops/test_plans/CoIP-H323TestPlan6.zip. This plan details seven different testing scenarios that can be used to verify H.323 system functionality. Testing scenarios are defined for configurations with and without Gatekeepers, with and without Gateways, and with and without firewallsin short just about every configuration that you are likely to encounter on your enterprise network. Also included is a scoring page, in spreadsheet form, that allows the tester to keep track of results.
Granted, the test scenarios are more aligned with product developers than network managers, but they are quite useful in planning your H.323 deployment. Just reading over the various testing configurations will give you a greater appreciation for the complexities involved, and help higher level managers understand why the interoperability questions need to be investigated when you are building a small test network, not deploying a multimedia system to thousands of end users. The IMTC has gone a long way toward solving the interoperability challenges of the 1980s. Wise network managers will leverage their research and avoid headaches for themselves.
Copyright Acknowledgement: © 2005 DigiNet ® Corporation, All Rights Reserved
Mark A. Miller, P.E. is President of DigiNet ® Corporation, a Denver-based consulting engineering firm. He is the author of many books on networking technologies, including Voice over IP Technologies, and Internet Technologies Handbook, both published by John Wiley & Sons. | <urn:uuid:6c415ba6-9d21-4cad-94cc-b44d926cd1aa> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/print/unified_communications/Understanding-H323151Part-IV-Testing-System-Interoperability--3503806.htm | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00257-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938361 | 1,259 | 2.703125 | 3 |
When it comes to competing for highly-skilled, entry-level talent in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, there’s good and bad news for federal agencies. The good news: College students majoring in STEM fields have roughly the same interest in federal careers than their non-STEM counterparts. The bad news: Federal salaries can’t live up to STEM students’ expectations.
That’s according to a new analysis by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, which found that STEM students have roughly the same interest (almost 6 percent) in federal service as non-STEM students. In addition, 10 percent of STEM majors reported searching for a position on USAJOBS.gov, slightly more than the percentage of all majors who had done so (8.8 percent).
The Partnership analyzed the 2013 National Association of Colleges and Employers Student Survey to gauge the level of interest current college students have in federal service as well as their employment plans, ideal career, salary expectations and immediate plans after graduation.
Still, despite equal interest in federal careers as their non-STEM peers, STEM students said the most popular choices of career were in a private sector firm (33.9 percent) or the medical or health care sector (25.2 percent).
STEM majors also place higher priority on starting salary than their non-STEM counterparts, with nearly 46 percent saying they expect to earn more than $55,000 annually, compared with 25.4 percent among all majors. “Starting salaries in the federal government for students with undergraduate degrees are well below this mark,” the report states.
The report includes a number of recommendations for agencies looking to attract Millennial talent overall, including making the federal hiring process easier to understand, highlighting job attributes and benefits entry-level workers most desire, leveraging student internships and providing opportunities for growth and development. For STEM talent in particular, agencies should emphasize the opportunity to work on unique and high-profile projects that may not be available in the private sector, the report states.
Tim McManus, vice president for education and outreach at the Partnership, told Wired Workplace last week that one of the primary goals of its Call to Serve program has been reaching out to colleges and universities to help them promote the wide range of careers the federal government offers.
“It’s not unusual for college students in public sector, history or government types of courses or majors to think about government as an employer,” he said. “But for the person in a hard science or business field, it’s less likely that they’re going to look to government because they don’t understand that those opportunities are even available.”
The Partnership’s Call to Serve effort also has reached out to colleges and universities to help connect them with agencies to get a broader understanding of the range of skills needed for in-demand jobs, McManus added.
“It may not be enough that you’re an IT or computer science major; you may need to have good analytical or project management skills as well,” he said. “That’s part of our focus – to get agencies and talent to look beyond having a degree in ‘X’ and therefore thinking government might be the right choice. It’s understanding what other skills they need to be successful.” | <urn:uuid:4765d806-299e-4d83-9d05-011c9e4c36a9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/wired-workplace/2014/03/science-and-tech-students-cite-mild-interest-federal-careers/80473/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00285-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955172 | 693 | 2.703125 | 3 |
With the requirements of longer transmission lengths, Optical Amplifiers have become an essential component in long-haul fiber optic networks. Semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA), and DWDM system amplifiers relif the effects of dispersion and attenuation, allowing improved performance for long-haul optical systems.
The evolution of EDFA has significantly miniaturized the loss of optical fiber. However dispersion is severely affecting the performance of fiber-optic systems. The light signal is severely distorted by dispersion, due to which signal quality, data rate and distance covered are greatly lessened. Therefore the techniques for effectively controlling the dispersion become burning concern in these systems.
EDFAs allow information to be transmitted over longer distances without the need for conventional repeaters. The fiber is doped with erbium, a rare earth element, that has the appropriate energy levels in their atomic structures for amplifying light. EDFAs are designed to amplify light at 1550 nm. The device utilizes a 980 nm or 1480nm pump laser to inject energy into the doped fiber. When a weak signal at 1310nm or 1550nm enters the fiber, the light stimulates the rare earth atoms to release their stored energy as additional 1550 nm or 1310 nm light. This process continues as the signal passes down the fiber, growing stronger and stronger as it goes.
The photons amplify the incoming signal optically, boosting the wavelength, and avoiding almost all of the active components. The output power of the EDFA is large, and thus, fewer amplifiers may be needed in any given system design. The amplification process is independent of the data rate. Because of this benefit, upgrading a system means only changing the launch/receive terminals.
As demands for wider bandwidth grow there is a call for more efficient and reliable optical amplifiers. The usable bandwidth of an EDFA is only about 30 nm (1530 nm-1560 nm), but the minimum attenuation is in the range of 1500 nm to 1600 nm. The dual-band fiber amplifier (DBFA) solves the usable bandwidth problem. It is broken down into two sub-band amplifiers. The DBFA is similar to the EDFA, but its bandwidth ranges from about 1528 nm to 1610 nm. The first range is similar to that of the EDFA and the second is known as extended band fiber amplifier (EBFA). Some features of the EBFA include flat gain, slow saturation, and low noise. The EBFA can achieve a flat gain over a range of 35 nm which is comparable to the EDFAs. EBFAs have the advantage of reaching a slower saturation keeping the output constant even though the input increases.
DWDM System Amplifiers
The explosion of dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) applications make DWDM optical amplifiers an essential fiber optic system building block, also forced the fiber optic manufacturers to develop DWDM multiplexer and demultiplexer that can handle closely spaced optical wavelengths. Due to DWDM systems handle information optically rather than electrically, it is imperative that long-haul applications do not suffer the effects of dispersion and attenuation.
Raman amplifier has been found to be an attractive candidate for DWDM system. Improved systems and methods for optical amplification of DWDM signals are provided by FiberStore. | <urn:uuid:9bd3b7c8-a74f-44e6-8bb0-0d6a1cac6bd4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.fs.com/blog/the-evolution-of-optical-amplifiers-for-dwdm.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281226.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00495-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927376 | 699 | 3.375 | 3 |
1. Quantum computing
The tech: The core concept of quantum computing has been on the drawing board for decades now: Exploiting the behavior of matter at the subatomic level to create a computer that solves problems exponentially faster. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM have all thrown money at it, while the NSA wants to use it to render current-generation encryption obsolete.
The timeframe: Depending on who you ask, quantum computing's already arrived. One firm, D-Wave, has already been marketing its quantum-computing product to Google, NASA, and Lockheed-Martin, with list prices in the millions of dollars. But controversy remains as to whether D-Wave's products provide any real improvements over a regular computer, and we've yet to see a really earth-shaking application of quantum computing in the real world. | <urn:uuid:47b239ae-2c94-4828-a60a-81c48912fb6a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.computerworld.com/article/2473574/emerging-technology/161494-7-far-out-technologies-closer-than-you-think.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00311-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925939 | 169 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Tech View: Laying the Groundwork for the Coming Smart Grid
Today’s electric grid is dated, overburdened, and lacks the ability to readily accommodate revolutionary technologies such as electric vehicles and wind farm installations. Customers are charged one flat rate, even though the actual cost of energy can fluctuate wildly during the day. Excess generation capacity goes idle in one region as other parts of the country suffer shortages and brown-outs. Usage surges at peak periods, stressing capacity, with little opportunity to shift demand to non-peak periods.
Utilities are often without comprehensive real-time information or the ability to act on it. They can’t remotely read meters, monitor power lines, easily shuttle excess power from one region to another, or consistently predict failures or shortages in time to re-route power. They communicate one-way with customers only through monthly printed bills.
What’s missing are built-in sensors and controls and a modern telecommunications network to relay information and commands. But this is about to change with a new generation of monitoring and control devices—compact, low-power, and capable of two-way communication. Supported by $4.5 billion in grants included in last February’s stimulus package, 40 million devices are about to be installed throughout the grid.
. . . utilities could simply take advantage of the vast existing infrastructure built and managed by AT&T and other providers.
As a result, utilities will know more about what is going on. Sensors on power lines will quickly detect breaks and monitor temperatures to know when lines are overheating and power needs to be rerouted. Sensors at transformers and capacitor banks will warn when failures have occurred or may be imminent. Two-way communications means utilities can relay demand-response commands to customers to promote reductions in energy consumption. They’ll be able to remotely re-route power if needed. Many fixes may need no human intervention since smart sensors can direct machines to automatically respond to certain conditions.
A modern two-way communications network connecting every element of the grid is needed to carry sensor data and provide connectivity and control. Rather than building new infrastructure for all this—an expensive proposition—utilities could simply take advantage of the vast existing infrastructure built and managed by AT&T and other providers. (AT&T alone will spend over $17 billion on capital outlays in 2010.) Utilities could contract for secure private dedicated space on the AT&T network, or simply purchase existing wireline and wireless voice and data services as needed.
AT&T already provides cellular connectivity to many smart meters in the field. Working with partners, including SmartSynch, a supplier of smart meter systems, and utilities like Texas-New Mexico Power Co., AT&T is using its advanced cellular network to connect directly (and indirectly via mesh collector systems) with tens of thousands of smart meters installed in households around the country.
Smart grid in the home
The home is where people may be affected most by the smart grid. Meters made smart with embedded intelligence will relay detailed usage and cost information so homeowners for the first time will know what they use, when they use it, and what it costs. Smart meters can be programmed for variable pricing, so utilities can change rates, perhaps in hourly, 15-minute, or even 5-minute intervals, charging more during peak periods and less other times; consumers will have an incentive to run appliances during non-peak times. Smart appliances can even respond automatically. Direct communication between home and utility means a new level of transparency and cooperation to reduce peak loads, saving money and the environment.
And reducing demand during peak times is a key goal since it is the power demands during peak periods that are driving the calls for new capacity; if demand can be distributed throughout the day, building new generating plants can be delayed, perhaps even indefinitely since renewable power sources are coming online.
Today’s grid is largely supplied by nuclear, fossil-burning, and hydro-electric generating sources that put out continuous, predictable flows of electricity. In contrast, renewable sources such as solar and wind generate output that can vary wildly, and cannot always be easily accommodated. The old grid has essentially no way to store excess power when these sources are abundant or reclaim it when such sources are offline. The inclusion of battery storage, such as a uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for a commercial building, could facilitate temporary absorption of such excess power and the return of power back to the grid during times when it is needed.
Electric vehicles are of particular interest for several reasons. In numbers, they place a potentially overwhelming load on the current grid (fast-charging an electric vehicle can take as much power as several large homes with every appliance on). A handful of such vehicles charging simultaneously in one cul-de-sac could easily draw more power than the local distribution transformer can accommodate. Consequently, ways to facilitate and control charging operations are being explored, including time shifting of charging operations to the late evening when energy demand is normally lower. But it’s not all bad news. Electric car batteries might potentially serve as vast reservoirs of energy storage, absorbing it when it’s plentiful and giving back to the grid when it’s needed—an advantageous trait when managing renewable energy sources on the grid.
Homeowners for the first time will know what they use, when they use it, and what it costs.
Appliances can also be smart. Manufacturers are ready to begin inserting chips to collect and report usage data so homeowners will know the power consumption of each device. (Owners of plasma TVs may be in for a surprise.) And dishwashers and any other device will be programmable to run only when electricity is cheapest. The smart meter, when alerted by the utility, might send a message to the refrigerator for it to go into energy-saving mode, delaying freezer defrost cycles.
All these smart devices will need a way to talk to one other. In the home, communication will likely take place over a home area network (HAN) in which each appliance is a node, and the network is connected to an energy controller.
Smart devices will communicate over a home area network. The most reliable solution may be a mesh network.
AT&T Research is actively investigating what the HAN topology should look like. The most reliable solution may be a mesh network that incorporates machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, allowing devices to communicate automatically, with minimal human intervention. Devices might periodically report information such as thermostat readings every 15 minutes or so or issue an alert, such as when a freezer initiates a defrost cycle.
Scientists at AT&T Research are looking at the competing protocols for the HAN. Current candidates include Power Line Carrier (PLC) solutions such as IEEE P1901 and ITU G.hn. PLC uses existing electrical wires to carry information and commands. Its big advantage is that it goes wherever the power lines go; however, there are competing PLC protocols and it’s not yet clear which one might prevail.
A possible wireless solution lies with ZigBee, a low-speed wireless protocol based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. Unlike its better known “big brother” Wi-Fi, ZigBee isn’t meant for transmitting voice or video. But it’s perfectly suited for low-bandwidth, ultra-low power M2M data exchanges like the smart grid will commonly use, and is designed to facilitate mesh networks.
Mesh radio networks can enhance reliability; if one link fails, each device can communicate with another, either directly or indirectly. Devices far from the signal source, such as a washer/dryer in the basement, could receive a signal relayed from a device (such as a refrigerator) closer to the energy controller.
The smart meter . . . makes the HAN an access point on the grid, much as Wi-Fi makes the PC an end point on the Internet.
Plus ZigBee efficiently passes small amounts of data, such as a thermostat set point or pool pump status. ZigBee radios are simple, inexpensive, and require very little power, coming on only to transmit data or periodically received commands, and then going back to sleep. Wi-Fi by contrast is designed to carry streaming data such as voice and video, and implementations typically are more complex and require more power than those for ZigBee.
The HAN may connect to the smart grid via a networked smart meter or through a broadband interface (such as U-verse), allowing the transfer of information and (with the permission of customers) enabling the utility to reach into homes and turn down air conditioning or turn off pool pumps when the grid is under stress. Essentially, the smart meter (or smart energy controller) makes the HAN an access point on the grid, much as WiFi makes the PC an end point on the Internet.
Making everything work together requires standards, especially when it consists of 3,000 separate utilities used to operating on their own. The smart grid will be a system of systems, each needing to interoperate. Connecting the refrigerator, to the smart meter-access point, to the electrical substations and even power-generating systems, requires interoperability at each point. In the home, appliances from different manufacturers will need a common protocol to communicate on the HAN and with the smart meter.
The lack of standards is holding up smart appliances. Manufacturers are ready to begin embedding sensors and communications capabilities, but many are waiting until a common standard is identified; supporting multiple protocols is just too costly. Charged with encouraging interoperability and fostering additional smart grid standards is NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). AT&T Research is working with NIST, associated standards boards, and manufacturer organizations to help create the reliable and secure network environment needed to unleash the full potential of the smart grid, with an emphasis on promoting decisions based on solid science. AT&T chairs an IEEE standards subcommittee for smart grid loads, and also contributes to ZigBee, IEEE P1901, and ITU G.hn proceedings, along with many others.
Research is also working with appliance makers to explore creating standard profiles for appliances according to the information required for each.
The complicated home environment
Standards are only one area for improvement; there are others. For one, the home may already be occupied by home automation systems that control devices and appliances. Security systems may already monitor doors and control lights. The PC may be hosting a home entertainment HAN that links the TV, remote, and even cell phone to a third-party’s gateway. Telehealth devices with sensors of their own may compete for control of the lights or other appliances. (For more about telehealth, see featured article Tech View: Telecommunications for Health and Body).
What will it take for these systems to interoperate? If the smart grid tells the lights to dim, but the security (or telehealth) system tells the lights to go on, who gets priority? Should the security system always get priority? Even if it’s unreliable? Mediation is clearly needed, but the question is how best to do it.
Interfaces will also need to be carefully considered. If consumers are to take control of electricity use, systems need to be simple. But simplicity is hard, especially when there are a lot of choices, and not everyone agrees what choices to give the consumer, and which are the most important.
Data ownership and security are two other important issues.
How much control should utilities have to tap into consumers’ power usage and make it more efficient? Some homes and businesses might want a utility to remotely control the thermostat or air conditioner in exchange for cheaper rates, but not everyone. Most plans envision the ability for customers to “opt-out”, though they may eventually pay for this privilege.
Data ownership and security are two other important issues. Consumer data is important to utilities; they can use it to predict future consumption patterns and build a better grid. But the amount and detail of data collected with all the new sensors may reveal much personal information, more than some may be comfortable sharing. Safeguards will be needed.
The next step is for AT&T Research to simulate a home environment where multiple systems for security, home automation, telehealth, as well as the smart grid, play together, and test the interactions under a variety of conditions. Well-formed decisions can be made only by understanding how these systems actually interoperate.
But as the complex smart grid inches closer and 40 million or more devices begin relaying information and control signals both within and without homes, these decisions need to be made soon. Otherwise the electrical system and associated appliances could become less reliable, or even damaged, while consumers could be confused and angered, leading to a smart grid that fails to reach its full potential. AT&T scientists will continue working with fellow engineers, standards bodies, and regulatory agencies to ensure the new smart grid doesn’t leave us in the dark.
Learn more about how Smart Grid Solutions from AT&T can modernize and upgrade your utility operations and customer satisfaction.
The reach of the smart grid . . . | <urn:uuid:ef0aa215-d28f-4a03-9446-7de505c9cd0c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.research.att.com/articles/featured_stories/2010_01/201002_techview_smartgrid.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00311-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942147 | 2,709 | 2.578125 | 3 |
In this age of analytics and big data we focus on the speed of the computer and the size of the attached storage but we’re overlooking the most critical element. Yes computers manipulate and store huge quantities of data, but the main processing is still done by the human mind – the human mind is what turns data into actionable information. So, speed up the link between the computer and the human mind and you’ll get much better results.
“We work with the military, big corporations and people frustrated by trying to analyze large volumes of data,” said Creve Maples, Ph.D. and CEO of Event Horizon. He explained that when people come to him they have often tried all sorts of analytic techniques but haven’t gotten many useful insights into what the data really means. He described a different approach that his company uses to analyze big data. “What we’ve learned to do is present data in formats that can be quickly taken in and understood by people.” That means they use formats that go beyond traditional line graphs and scatter plots and bar charts.
[ I do lively presentations on this and related topics – www.MichaelHugos.com ]
Feed Us the Data in a Format We can Quickly Understand
According to Creve, the human brain is normally processing about 20 Gigabytes of data per second; that’s the input from the five senses and the brain handles this data in real-time. Research at Event Horizon suggests people can track up to 27 different variables as they process their 20 GB of real-time input. Consider the example of driving a car. The driver can watch the road, operate the car, talk to a passenger, adjust the car heater and radio and subconsciously be listening to the sound of the engine and feeling the vibrations of the car as it moves. The driver’s mind is taking this all in and handling it as a normal matter of course.
But then as soon as there is a slight change in the engine noise or the vibrations of the car the driver’s senses are alerted, and the driver is all over the situation trying to find out what happened to cause this sudden change.
Several years ago Creve worked with engineers at Penske Racing; Penske was loosing races but they couldn’t figure out why. They put real-time sensors on their race cars and those sensors streamed data on about 22 independent variables. They collected this data during races and then afterwards did all sorts of analysis on it. After 2 years of effort they couldn’t find answers.
They came to Event Horizon as a last attempt. Creve said he took the raw data but told the Penske engineers he didn’t want to see the analysis that had already been done. Creve and his staff wanted to approach the problem from a fresh perspective.
“We displayed the different data variables as cartoon elements. For instance, as tires heated up we showed them getting bigger, as other variables changed we changed the shape and color of the cars. We took vehicle data and rendered it visually without showing numbers.”
Once they had created these visualizations and ran them as animated sequences they found the problem on the first day. It was that the response time of the race cars' steering systems was too slow. With moving arrows they showed visually the direction of the tires and the rotation of the car steering wheel. Animated sequences clearly showed there was a small lag time between when drivers turned the steering wheel and when the car wheels actually turned. So drivers were constantly making many small adjustments and it slowed them down just enough to lose races.
Having Fun with Big Data
Imagine analyzing performance data from a new product by shrinking down and traveling freely inside the device such as this complex electro-mechanical gear assembly shown below. What better way is there to see how the parts interact and see where the friction builds up?
(visualization image courtesy of Event Horizon)
Creve described another visualization they created when working with a computer chip designer. The designer came to them and said a new chip was overheating and nobody could figure out why; the new design should have been able to dissipate the heat. So they created a 3D visualization of the chip and let people fly through the circuits of the chip. The circuits were rendered as tubes you could fly through and the walls of the tubes were colored using a range of blue for cool to red for hot with color gradations in between.
Then they brought in the wife of one of the Event Horizon scientists to try out the visualization. She didn’t know anything about chip design but she located the point of thermal failure very quickly. The area of the chip that got hottest most quickly was easy to spot as she flew through the chip. And when she examined that area closely she saw there was no way for the heat there to be drained off. It turned out the chip designer had left out a heat-sink connection in that part of the chip.
This is an example of the discoveries and delights that happen when people get a spontaneous human-machine interaction made possible by good user interface design that effectively engages our senses. Creve coined a term for this; it’s called “anthropo – cyber – synchronicity”.
We would never say “we had fun” as a reason for using a data analytics application. But fun is literally what happens when an analytics system connects with the power of our senses and allows us to suddenly understand and interact with data in a novel way.
Does this seem a bit like a video game? Could game technology help us do analytics?
[ I’m building a game to design and visualize supply chains – it’s called SCM Globe – you can try it for free; I’d love to get your feedback. ] | <urn:uuid:10b8237d-4b08-49a6-a89e-d650c723f50c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.cio.com/article/2371787/business-intelligence/a-novel-encounter-with-big-data.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00129-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972583 | 1,200 | 3.03125 | 3 |
The Pentagon's new wiki
- By Doug Beizer
- Nov 05, 2008
Defense Department officials have launched a wiki as a way to improve collaboration among agency scientists, engineers, acquisition workers and military service members.
DOD Techipedia is similar to online encyclopedia Wikipedia and the intelligence community's Intellipedia, said John Young, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
DOD Techipedia was launched Oct. 1 and announced at the Emerging Technologies for Defense Applications conference in Arlington, Va. The event was sponsored by 1105 Government Information Group, which owns Federal Computer Week.
'Improving collaboration requires a shift in our ideas, our values, our behaviors and our processes,' Young said. 'We must provide the capability to defeat any adversary at any time, anywhere in the world.'
DOD Techipedia will help fulfill that goal, he added.
DOD spends about $10 billion a year on science and technology, and that money must be used effectively to help warfighters in the field, Young said. The new wiki will help DOD officials better coordinate their efforts, he added.
'You want to do this so all the individuals out there executing some of that $10 billion can look elsewhere in the Defense Department and see if someone else has already tried an idea,' Young said. 'That way we can get the collaboration [and] coordination and reduce duplication. It also lets us avoid learning the same lesson two or three times in our enterprise.'
DOD Techipedia is available to federal employees and contractors registered with the Defense Technical Information Center. DOD plans to launch an external wiki in the next several months.
'It will enable that industry access that I think is an important part of this,' Young said.
Doug Beizer is a staff writer for Federal Computer Week. | <urn:uuid:6f34dede-8fe5-4f61-a8cd-ae48598dd9a8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://gcn.com/articles/2008/11/05/the-pentagons-new-wiki.aspx | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00431-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933586 | 368 | 2.515625 | 3 |
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The interface, called iGesture, consists of a touch pad that acts like a video camera, recording the objects touching its surface. An embedded microprocessor then uses an algorithmic process to convert the touches into commands understood by the computer.
The mouse-eliminating technology was originally developed by University of Delaware visiting assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering Wayne Westerman, who began the project as part of his doctoral thesis. Westerman has been working on developing the technology over the past five years, along with University of Delaware professor of electrical and computer engineering John Elias.
The two are now marketing iGesture through a company called FingerWorks.
"Ultimately, I think the technology is completely capable of replacing what we use today," Elias said in an interview yesterday. The researchers believed that the system was revolutionary in that it mimicked our natural tendency to use gestures to communicate.
A FingerWorks spokesman said a number of University of Delaware students and faculty were already using the technology.
The system is multi-touch, requiring only light, subtle movements. To open a file, the user rotates a hand as if opening a jar, and to maximise or minimise a screen, the user expands or contracts a hand.
Elias said that it took around three to four weeks for users to learn how to use the system, but admitted that some could not get used to the technology.
"Sometimes people just don't want to change," Elias said. "I'm sure my grandmother didn't want to switch from a typewriter to a computer."
However, Elias said that he believed that the system could change computing, and that software makers could, eventually, start building applications that take advantage of the technology.
The researchers claimed the technology was much more flexible than voice recognition systems, because it is difficult for computers to process speech differences, and that users could gesture passwords only known to them.
FingerWorks is marketing both a standalone touch pad and touch pads built into non-mechanical keyboards, so that users do not have to move their hands when switching from typing to using the mouse.
The iGesture Pad is priced at $179 (£115) while the iGesture Keyboard is going for $199 (£127), according to the company's Web site. The products work on Macintosh, Windows and Linux systems and require no extra software.
Elias conceded that the product pricing is high right now, but with increased sales volume the company hoped to move production offshore and reduce prices. | <urn:uuid:88e88984-b733-4ec2-b495-bed6f448c05d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240047915/Touch-pad-could-make-mouse-and-keyboard-redundant | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00459-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96697 | 540 | 2.921875 | 3 |
The low number of students gaining A-level science, maths and technology qualifications is causing a skills gap to emerge, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
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The results show a 1.8% drop in the number of students taking IT-related A-levels, with 15,962 students studying for ICT and computing A-levels in 2011, compared with 16,251 last year.
Despite drops in the number of students studying IT courses, science and mathematics numbers continued to rise. Mathematics student numbers increased 7% year-on-year.
However, Neil Bentley, CBI deputy director-general, warned a skills gap is emerging as A-level qualifications are failing to meet employers' demands.
Neil Bentley said: "Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) student numbers are still too low and must increase further to meet employer demand."
He added: "There is already a skills gap emerging in this area with over 40% of companies saying they are having difficulty recruiting people with STEM skills."
Recent CBI research shows 56% more jobs will require people to hold graduate-level qualifications by 2017.
Bentley advised students gaining A-level qualifications to consider vocational training, such as apprenticeships and work placements, as well as university to meet demand from businesses for STEM skills.
Jim Sinclair, director at the Joint Council for Qualifications, said: "The increase in the number of students taking maths and the sciences suggest that young people are listening to the repeated calls from industry for more people to study the STEM subjects."
Computer Weekly has launched an information resource called IT Works to empower the digital economy through IT skills and training (ie help you get a job). | <urn:uuid:048bc56f-2e94-45cb-9b1a-f96dfd0e514d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240105384/A-level-STEM-student-numbers-fail-to-meet-employer-demand-warns-CBI | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00367-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959328 | 373 | 2.703125 | 3 |
It seems that the IT industry is not exploiting an opportunity to save money, help the environment and improve the lives of poor people in underdeveloped countries as effectively as it might.
The opportunity for a rare win/win/win focuses on e-waste. The first win is reclaiming the gold, silver and other elements that are needed for the exploding number of mobile devices from those that have “retired” to dumps in underdeveloped countries. The second win is removing those elements – which potentially are dangerous – without allowing the elements to leach into the ground water. Forcing the recovery job to be done right – something that IT departments and the organizations for which they work can push the government to advocate for – can save the health of the indigent folks who today recover the materials with inadequate tools. That's the third win – and it's a big one when it is understood that those workers generally are kids.
A lot of money is on the table. James Holloway wrote at Ars Technica that 320 tons of gold and 7,500 tons of silver are used in mobile devices. At current valuations, that’s $16 billion in gold and $5 billion in silver annually. But the amount of that total that is recovered from old electronics (as opposed to mined from the earth) only is 15 percent.
Part of the problem is that e-waste generally is sent to developing countries to be deconstructed. The methods used to reclaim the gold, silver and other valuable elements in these locales is primitive. Less is collected than if the work were done elsewhere, and the dangers to those doing the collecting is greater. There are no easy answers offered in the story. Here is an example of the risks:
The health and environmental hazards linked to crude e-waste recycling practices are well documented. For example, the widely-reported practice of burning cables and printed wiring boards to recover the metals they contain is known to release polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and furans (PCDDs and PCDFs) that can be toxic in even small doses. The combustion can also lead to the release of dust and fumes from the beryllium present. Inhalation can cause the incurable pulmonary disease berylliosis, the symptoms of which can in some cases begin to appear years after the last exposure.
This story at Bright Side of the News covers some of the same material as Holloway. It isn’t quite as comprehensive, but does offer both a good overview and some additional information.
Some insight into the complexity of e-waste – and, thankfully, efforts that are being made to handle it in a socially responsible way – can be found in this Forbes Q&A with Robert Erie, the CEO of a company called E-World. There is, according to Erie, good reason for optimism. Indeed, his view of the opportunities just about mirrors Holloway’s outline of the dangers:
While relatively new, and admittedly far from being perfect, E-waste recycling is now a sustainable worldwide industry. It spares hazardous materials from polluting the environment in which we live. It saves us from having to continue to mine the limited amount of raw materials from this planet; therefore it also conserves energy and natural resources. It has created thousands of jobs, in dozens of countries while being an environmental benefit to all.
Treating e-waste appropriately can be a significant winner for everyone. The bill of materials (BOM) of devices will shrink, the air and water in developing countries will be cleaner and the people will be healthier. Indeed, it is such a winner that it is sure to be addressed by a wave of aggressive companies such as Erie’s. | <urn:uuid:b4b81b23-3d25-4bdd-be72-3af1edf15788> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/weinschenk/sensible-e-waste-procedures-should-become-a-booming-business/?cs=50817 | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282631.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00091-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96279 | 765 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Scanning the computer for viruses and vulnerabilities is one of the most important tasks in ensuring the computer's security. The virus scan detects the spreading of malicious code, which has not been detected by the malware protection for some reasons. Vulnerability scan detects software vulnerabilities that can be used by intruders to spread malicious objects and obtain access to personal information. Kaspersky Lab's
specialists distinguish the virus scan tasks:
- Scan for viruses (including scan of removable drives). Developers of malicious programs make a lot effort to hide activity of malicious software; that is why you may not notice presence of malware on your computer. During the installation Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 automatically performs the task of Critical Areas Scan of the computer. This task searches and neutralizes malicious programs loaded at the operating system startup.
- System's and applications' vulnerability scan. Vulnerability scan is a special tool which helps to search and eliminate security vulnerabilities of applications, installed on your computer, and in operating system settings. All the problems detected at the system analysis stage will be grouped based on the degree of danger it poses. Kaspersky Lab specialists offer a set of actions for each group of problems which help to eliminate vulnerabilities and weak points in the system's settings.
distinguishes virus scan tasks and vulnerability scan tasks. Virus scan tasks include the following:
- object scan. Scan of any object selected by the user.
- full scan. A thorough scan of the entire system. The following objects are scanned by default: system memory, programs loaded on startup, system backup, email databases, hard drives, removable storage media and network drives.
- critical areas scan. Virus scan of operating system startup objects.
Each scan task is performed in the specified area and can be launched according to the schedule created. A set of virus scan task parameters define the security level. By default, three levels are provided.
- high. With the high security level the program performs thorough scan of the whole computer or of a separate disk, folder or a file on the computer.
- recommended. This level scans the same objects which are scanned in the high security level, except files of mail formats.
- low. If you are using applications requiring considerable RAM resources, select the Low security level because the application puts least demand on system resources in this mode.
The full scan and critical areas scan tasks are specific tasks. It is not recommended to change the list of objects scanned by these tasks.
After the virus scan task starts, its progress is displayed in the main application window of Kaspersky Internet Security 2013. While searching for threats, information with the results of the task execution is written into a report of Kaspersky Internet Security 2013. The main application window also displays the information when the scan task was stopped or finished. The time reference is a link to the report window of Kaspersky Internet Security 2013.
Also you can find information concerning scan processes and results in the Task Manager. | <urn:uuid:a9df5b50-a99a-4e3d-b91a-5faea0ed0c89> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://support.kaspersky.com/us/8652 | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00577-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.891527 | 600 | 2.984375 | 3 |
When the Curiosity rover arrived on Mars two months ago it was just about the best public relations exercise that NASA could have hoped for, short of actually landing a human on the red planet.
"They've really done a lot for the agency to make people think it's cool to work at NASA again," says senior computer scientist Chris Mattmann, who works at Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL), one of ten NASA centres.
Mattmann is speaking at the ITEX conference in Auckland on November 8 at the Viaduct Events Centre. He has worked for NASA since he was an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, when he took a part time academic position.
While not directly involved in the Curiosity mission, Mattmann has worked on Apache (the open source software foundation) data processing and information integration software projects that help power NASA's planetary data system -- the archive for all its space missions.
Mattmann became involved in Nutch, an open source search engine program, when studying for his doctorate. Nutch was created by Doug Cutting, who went on to found the big data system Hadoop.
Cutting was inspired to create Nutch because of a frustration with the 'black box' approach that Google had towards its search technology.
"He really felt that search should be more open and people should be able to tinker with things like ranking," says Mattmann.
Mattmann has used Nutch in his work at NASA, which he describes as "organising the information for scientists." At JPL he leads teams who build large scale data systems that manage hundreds of terabytes of information.
"Part of the stuff that I help to do is organise the information for scientists," he says.
"Organisation can range from the way that files are specifically named and the information that's captured in file names, to their organisation on discs, to the way the information is disseminated to the public."
Using Nutch within NASA, contributing code and helping people on the mailing lists has led to Mattmann becoming an Apache 'committer'. According to the Apache website that means he has access to the source code repository, and can help make strategic decisions around bug fixes and new software releases.
Mattmann explains that Nutch could originally only scale up to 100 million web pages, whereas the big search engines such as Yahoo and Google were in the four billion page range. So Cutting set about creating a new system, which he called Hadoop, allegedly after his childhood stuffed toy.
Inspired by Cutting's work and sense of humour, Mattmann has started his own project called Tika - a text analysis tool that detects and extracts metadata and structured text content from various documents using existing parser libraries. It is named after a soft toy belonging to the daughter of his partner in the project.
"Most of the open source work I do is through Apache, a lot of it has to do with the Apache licence being a very permissive licence," Mattman says. "It allows people downstream that leverage Apache based software to use that upstream open source component in arbitrary ways. It makes it so the software I build -- when we distribute it to customers, or others we collaborate with, we don't have to give them any surprises."
Mattmann says NASA has been an active user of open source software for around 15 years but only recently has it become active on the production side. For the past two years NASA has held open source summits, outlining its contribution to open source.
NASA categorises its data in different levels, and in the next generation earth science system satellite area where Mattmann works it is publically distributed via DAACs (Distributed Active Archive Centres). He says the programs and tools used to process data vary depending on the preferences of the scientists involved in the project. "A lot times the software itself is coupled to the instrument."
Level zero data is raw data that comes off the instrument and level one data is data which has started to be calibrated from raw voltages.
Mattmann says that the public can have access, through the DAACs, to level two data. This is data that is calibrated, geospatially identified and mapped to a physical model (measurements that can be mapped in space and time).
"It's so voluminous, because it's raw measurements in space and time from an instrument. You probably won't use that in your IT organisations, it might be too big for you," he says.
It's when you get to level 3 data, which is typically mapped or gridded information, that the user can really "crank on it" because the files are lot smaller and more manageable, says Mattmann. This information is often used in discussions about temperature and climate change.
"With each level of processing there are more assumptions that are codified into the data. More scientific assumptions that you didn't necessarily make," Mattmann points out.
His enthusiasm for big data projects is contagious, but when asked how he came to have a career as a NASA computer scientist, he says it's a "lame story".
He grew up playing video games, but it wasn't until his last year at high school when working on the student Yearbook that he worked with Adobe Illustrator and decided he needed to understand more about computers. So he followed some of his friends into the computer science department at college.
"I have no secret to being successful at computer science other than hard work and then sticking my head in the books and deciding I was going to do well," Mattmann says.
At the ITEX conference Mattmann will talk about his work with the Square Kilometre Array project. The $1.9 billion project will be split between an Australia-New Zealand consortium and a consortium of African nations led by South Africa.
This means New Zealand has been left on the outer edge of the project, but Mattmann says there is plenty for New Zealanders to be fascinated about.
He's been working with the South African team on the data processing side, "figuring out how to leverage NASA technology and open source data management technology."
"Some of the requirements of SKA make it mind boggling," he says.
"The 700 terabytes of data per second and how to prepare ourselves for the next decade through the use of data systems, software architecture design, and open source. How to be able to handle that data deluge."
This story, "Big data the NASA way" was originally published by Computerworld New Zealand. | <urn:uuid:133343ef-6952-405c-a5cf-218f669097e7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.itworld.com/article/2719456/big-data/big-data-the-nasa-way.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280900.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00119-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968695 | 1,334 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Email is without a doubt vital to almost all businesses today. Unfortunately, the vast majority of emails now passing across the Internet consist not of essential business messages or even personal correspondence, but spam.
Surveys of businesses and other organisations that rely on the Internet for their communications show that around 83 per cent of inbound email traffic is either spam, or other types of illegitimate messages. Together these are known as “dark traffic”.
A Growing Problem
As well as straightforward spam, dark traffic comprises directory harvest attacks (DHA); email denial of service (DoS) attacks; malformed SMTP packets, invalid recipient addresses, and other requests and communications unrelated to the delivery of valid email messages.
Most conventional spam, is purely commercial in its intent, setting out to encourage Internet users to buy goods or services. Others are so-called “blended threats”, messages that use social engineering techniques to persuade recipients to open the message and, typically, activate a Trojan, virus or other malware.
But a growing percentage of dark traffic aims to cause damage or disruption to a company or to its IT assets.
Denial of service attacks delivered over email, for example, could take down a company’s mail servers, rendering it unable to do business on line. More sinister still, cyber criminals can use a combination of hacking and spam techniques to “harvest” email addresses and user identities, opening the door to further attacks.
Email-based denial of service attacks could also be directed at network providers, with the knock-on effect of damaging the communications of dozens of businesses that outsource their email hosting.
The threat to corporate IT systems is by no means static. As the quantity of both malformed emails and outright spam grow, legitimate email traffic on the Internet is being drowned out by dark traffic. Industry estimates suggest that just 27 per cent of email traffic is technically valid. Of that valid traffic, two thirds consists of spam or other unsolicited mails.
Why Businesses need To Act
The vast majority of email security systems in production today scan only for the content of the messages, relying on techniques such as keyword scanning. This means they will accept the vast majority of malformed messages as legitimate.
Dark traffic is forcing businesses to invest in additional bandwidth, storage space and CPU capacity just to collect, store and forward enormous quantities of unwanted email traffic.
The very high ratio of illegitimate messages to legitimate mail forces companies to invest more and more resources in building spam detection and filtering systems. For some businesses, the need to scan the content of a vast amount of email, just to find the relatively small proportion of real messages, is creates serious bottlenecks within the IT infrastructure.
Unless they act, CIOs could find themselves caught in a spiral of ever-greater investment in order to accommodate a growing quantity of messages that are of little or no value to their businesses.
Although there are some emerging email authentication standards, such as SPF, SenderID and DKIM, there is no expectation that these can resolve the spam problem. And as there is no real cost involved in sending email, there are few economic incentives to prevent spammers from continuing to ply their trade. Legal restrictions on spammers have been increased, in particular in the USA. But these measures will do little to deter the authors of other dark traffic types. Their actions are already illegal in much of the world, but enforcement remains extremely difficult. The onus remains on businesses to protect themselves.
What Can Be Done?
By its nature, dark traffic cannot be prevented at an Internet-wide level. For its part, anti-spam legislation only acts as a limited deterrent to those intent on dark traffic attacks. The very fact that dark traffic takes on the appearance of legitimate email means that it is not visible to many of the information security measures currently operated by Internet service providers and companies.
The only way to determine whether an email message is legitimate or dark traffic is to compare the addressee with entries in a company’s directory. If the addressee is listed, the email could still be spam, but the vast majority of illegitimate emails, including most of the traffic used for both denial of service and directory harvest attacks, would remain undelivered.
Businesses, however, will be understandably reluctant to hand over their directory details to third parties, even where doing so will improve their information security defences. But businesses can deploy solutions at the edge of their networks that will filter out malformed SMTP packets, denial of service attacks (based on the messages originating from one or a small number of IP addresses) and directory harvest attempts.
Such technology does not replace anti-spam systems based on content filtering, but works alongside them. Conventional spam filtering remains necessary to protect employees’ mailboxes from spam launched against pre-harvested addresses or those bought from a list, as well as for other purposes such as blocking messages with inappropriate content.
Building a layered approach to spam is both efficient and more effective. Two sets of filtering systems greatly cuts the chances of spam messages slipping through the net, but it should also reduce the number of “false rejects” by allowing finer tuning of content-based filters.
But the main argument for deploying scanners at the edge to pick up and block dark traffic is efficiency.
Given that only around 10 per cent of email is legitimate traffic, but that 83 per cent of all messages are believed to be denial of service attacks, directory harvest attacks or have invalid recipients, blocking this mail at an early a stage as possible vastly reduces the load on conventional, content-based filtering systems.
Edge-based systems work by examining the sender’s IP address and the “envelope” headers of an email message, in order to detect dark traffic. If the message is rejected, the content simply never reaches the content filtering systems, let alone the corporate email servers.
As an edge system only looks at envelop data, it will typically be five to six times as quick as a content filter with a similar configuration. In fact, combining a single content filter system with an edge-based filter should be as effective as six standalone content filters.
By blocking more illegitimate email, the combined filters will also save on storage and processing needs, further bolstering the return on investment. Moreover, only edge-based systems can pick up and block denial of service attacks. By the time the messages reach the content filters, it is already too late to stop a denial of service attack.
Filtering out dark traffic at the network edge is cost effective, removes bottlenecks and ultimately, improves corporate information security in a way that other anti-spam measures cannot achieve on their own. | <urn:uuid:64ac31d7-6f9e-453a-820c-c2eefb337d70> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2006/03/29/the-pathogenesis-of-dark-traffic-attacks/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00332-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942331 | 1,377 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Talk about an ambitious project. The scientists at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said today they want to develop a massive system of sensors and unmanned systems that can monitor and track the remote environment of the Arctic.
DARPA acknowledged the immensity of the Assured Artic Awareness project saying the Arctic is physically vast, with transpolar distances of over two thousand nautical miles, and typical travel distances from the US of over one thousand miles. However with retreating Arctic ice in the coming decades, shipping is expected to increase during the summer months as will effort to exploit natural resources along the resource rich continental shelf. This growth in activity will increase the strategic significance of the region and will drive a need to ensure stability through effective regional monitoring, the agency stated.
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From DARPA: "Remote distributed sensing is a way to provide stand-off situation awareness in the Arctic, and is an emphasis for the Assured Artic program. Distributed and unmanned systems offer the advantage of extensive footprints as well as proximity, without the potential system costs of large manned platforms and bases. As with the development of any remote distributed system, developers will need to overcome the technical challenges of persistence, survivability, energy management, sensing, mobility, delivery, and communications.
Such endeavors are further challenged by the extreme meteorological and environmental conditions of the Arctic. For example: polar ice isolates underwater activities from overhead assets; extensive darkness and cloud cover limit electro-optical imaging; instability in the ionosphere disrupts radiofrequency propagation; geosynchronous satellites access can fail at latitudes above 70 degrees N; and temperatures can fall below -65 degrees C affecting hardware designs."
The agency depicted two central areas of technology it wants to develop:
Under-ice awareness: "Proposed solutions in this area should leverage unique Arctic properties (like under-ice acoustic propagation, noise, and non-acoustic properties) to enable distributed unmanned autonomous systems to find and hold targets underwater. Primary interest lies in anti-submarine warfare, however innovative approaches for the detection of structures, bathymetry [study of underwater depths], and other measurements where compelling cases are made for their strategic value will be considered."
Surface awareness: "Proposed technologies in this area will leverage unique Arctic properties (such as electromagnetic and optical phenomena, ice distributions within a coverage area, the narrow passageways for shipping traffic, and other unique attributes) to let distributed unmanned autonomous systems find and hold surface contacts in the marginal ice zone and summer ice-free waters. Primary interest lies in surface ship and ice tracking, however, this technical area will include innovative approaches for enabling technologies such as networking, data exfiltration, the detection of other activity and conditions of concern where compelling cases are made for their strategic value."
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DARPA said that the program seeks to develop alternative technology that "creatively turns the perceived environmental challenges of the Arctic into exploitable opportunities."
DARPA said the program will initially offer multiple contracts worth a total of up to $4 million.
Layer 8 Extra
Check out these other hot stories: | <urn:uuid:087243e6-ec77-4bfb-9fb9-fe6a25f7592c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.networkworld.com/article/2221952/lan-wan/darpa-wants-the-ultimate-technology--sensor-network-to-monitor-the-vast-arctic.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280086.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00084-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918384 | 651 | 3.21875 | 3 |
usually CURSORS are not required for updation of the table
Note that UPDATE operations can be performed in one of two ways:
1) By performing a searched update operation
Ex: UPDATE EMPLOYEES SET SALARY = NULL
UPDATE EMPLOYEES SET SALARY = SALARY * 1.08
WHERE EMP_ID = 30301
2) By performing a positioned update operation.
To perform a positioned update, a cursor must first be created, opened, and positioned on the row that is to be updated. Then, the UPDATE statement that is to be used to modify one or more data values must contain a WHERE CURRENT OF [CursorName] clause (CursorName identifies the cursor being used—we'll look at cursors shortly). Because of their added complexity, positioned update operations are typically performed by embedded SQL applications.
SET SALARY = :WS-SALARY
WHERE CURRENT OF CURSOR_1 | <urn:uuid:d00bdf5e-a21c-4835-b3cd-c22b6468f86a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ibmmainframes.com/about29517.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00478-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.880016 | 200 | 2.78125 | 3 |
The Pentagon has launched a $75 million program to support experiments to heal combat injuries with regenerative medicine, a field that uses engineered cells and artificial organs to repair damaged tissues. The project aims to push promising technologies into human clinical trials.
The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, alongside the Office of Naval Research, Department of Veterans Affairs and National Institutes of Health, is now seeking applications for grants, according to a program document posted April 16.
The Pentagon specifically is looking out for limb salvage technologies and ways to treat trauma-induced damage to joints. "With better body armor in use in contemporary warfare, the heightened prevalence of serious extremity injury on the battlefield has increased requirements to treat, reconstruct, and rehabilitate wounded warriors suffering massive tissue loss of the extremities," reads the document. The military is also eyeing new methods of skin regeneration, pelvic reconstruction and treatments for major limb amputation or facial disfiguration, and even considering methods of "hand or face transplantation."
The funding anticipated for the program, called Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine II, is $15 million annually for five years. Letters of intent are due at 5 p.m. EST on July 2. The full grant opportunity is available here. | <urn:uuid:c433bb3b-eb53-4f5a-be6c-c62cb11c41a4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2012/04/pentagon-to-grow-regenerative-medicine-technology/51056/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00478-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942536 | 254 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Ethernet Applications (UMUX)
The UMUX family, although designed around a TDM core, includes extensive Ethernet capability both for transport (Ethernet over SDH or PDH) and for VLAN based switching.
This course focuses on the Ethernet capability of the UMUX platform. Starting with the theory and principles of Ethernet and Ethernet transport, the course introduces the functionality and capabilities of the Ethernet and Ethernet Transport units.
Specific units covered on this course are the Ethernet over SDH and Ethernet Switching units, NEBRO and NEBRA;the Ethernet Switching unit NEBRE; and the Ethernet over PDH unit, ETER1. It should be noted that ETER1 is now a versatile L2/L3 networking unit supporting Ethernet over PDH, multiple bridge instances, inter-VLAN routing and IP routing.
Students will also look at key Ethernet protocols such as RSTP and VLANs, and how they are practically implemented, together with IP protocols such as OSPF, RIP and VRRP.
|Target Group|| |
This course is designed for engineers and planners, and has a high element of practical work.
|Key Topics|| |
Each participant receives a printed copy of the course documentation. | <urn:uuid:9619ad7d-ceed-4355-acc1-cbe56c339f88> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.keymile.com/en/services/training/course_descriptions/umux/ethernet_applications_umux | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00414-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901872 | 257 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Buffer overflow attacks involve sending overly long input streams to the attacked server, causing the server to overflow parts of the memory and either crash the system or execute the attacker's arbitrary code as if it was part of the server's code. The result is full server compromise or Denial of Service.
Some of the well-known Internet worms, including Code Red, Slapper and Slammer, use buffer overflow attacks to propagate and execute payloads. Buffer overflow vulnerabilities are some of the most common programming errors. The CVE vulnerability database indicates that 23% of all vulnerabilities uncovered during 2003 were buffer overflow vulnerabilities.
Applications routinely allocate memory buffers to store different types of data. For example, when the application asks for user input, it allocates a buffer to contain the input.
Consider a simple example in which the user is required to enter a phone number. The programmer might assume that users will not enter a phone number longer than 10 digits. Based on that assumption, the programmer might write the code to allocate a 15-character buffer to contain the returned input. But what would happen if the user returns an input that is 5000 characters long? Obviously, the allocated buffer would be too small to contain all the input. But the real question is what would the server do with the remaining 4,985 characters? Due to the specific structure of the server's memory, the remaining characters will run over important parts of the application and could cause the system to actually execute parts of the input as if they were legitimate parts of the application code. Carefully crafted inputs can execute arbitrary commands on the server, usually with high permissions. Not so carefully crafted inputs can cause the server to crash while trying to execute meaningless input.
Applications consist of one or more operating system processes. Each process holds a memory block that is divided into three segments:
- Code: This segment contains the actual code for the application, i.e., the assembler instructions that the processor executes. The code execution process is non-linear, meaning that the processor can skip code and call functions on certain conditions. A special pointer, called EIP, or instruction pointer, is used to point to a specific memory address containing the code to be executed next.
- Data: This segment contains the memory space for variables and dynamic buffers.
- Stack: This segment is used for passing data (arguments) to functions and for storing functions' variables.
Let's focus for a moment on the stack, which is used to store information associated with function calls and is also the key for buffer overflow attacks. What exactly is a function? A function is a reusable piece of code that can be called from different locations in the code. A function can receive parameters and return a value. Parameters are passed to a function using the stack. Just before calling the function and executing its code, the system pushes the parameters into the stack. The return address, i.e. the address in the code from which the function was called and to which the system needs to return after executing the function, is also pushed into the stack. This is very important in the context of buffer overflow attacks. If the attacker is able to override the return address with a carefully selected address, then arbitrary code execution becomes possible. While executing, the function keeps reading and writing information to the stack. Once the function terminates, all its data elements are removed from the stack, including all parameters. The system then returns to the specific code address that appears on the stack.
How would the attacker override the return address? The attacker has limited control over one aspect of the stack using buffers that store parameters. If the programmer allocates a buffer of a specific size and the attacker provides an input longer than the defined size, the input would most probably overflow the buffer and override other parts of the stack, including the function's return address that resides on the stack. By overriding part of the stack, the attacker can both inject a malicious execution code and set the return address to point to the malicious code. When the function returns, the attacker's code is executed.
Although it sounds complicated to implement, skilled attackers easily uncover and exploit buffer overflow vulnerabilities to attack Web applications and databases. Buffer overflow attacks usually appear as very long parameter values associated with HTTP requests. For example, the following HTTP request was used by the Internet worm Code Red to exploit a buffer overflow vulnerability within the Microsoft IIS default.ida default page:
GET /default.ida?NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN%u9090%u6858%ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%uc bd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u9090%u8190%u00c3%u0003%u8b00%u 531b%u53ff%u0078%u0000%u00=a
Buffer overflow attacks are prevented by enforcing boundary checking on input received from users. Each input should be carefully checked by the server to match the size expected. Inputs that exceed the allocated buffer size should be either truncated or blocked.
Buffer overflow attack prevention
|Solution||Blocks buffer overflow attacks?|
|Intrusion Detection Systems||No|
|Intrusion Prevention Systems||No|
Trying to uncover buffer overflows at the application level involves sending long parameter values to different parameters on different pages. The size of the parameter which can result in a buffer overflow varies and depends on the buffer size allocated by the application. If the buffer allocated by the application is 10 bytes long then a 50 bytes input might overflow it. On the other hand if the buffer is 300 bytes long then a 50 bytes input will not do any harm. This is why Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems which are not Web application oriented cannot detect application level buffer overflows - they just cannot know what the allowed size for each parameter is. To know that, the product must learn the normal size of each parameter.
Imperva SecureSphere learns the size constrains of each parameter. Then the product also enforces some correlation rules which enhance the probability of detecting a buffer overflow attack. For example, the product correlates the HTTP request with the HTTP response. Buffer overflow attacks will usually generate error messages. If a long parameter generates an error message SecureSphere alerts for a possible buffer overflow attack. SecureSphere also checks the number of attempts to send long parameters. If the user keeps trying that then SecureSphere also alerts for a possible buffer overflow attack. | <urn:uuid:80442774-f1f0-4e94-859a-5a8df3b94937> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.imperva.com/Resources/Glossary?term=buffer_overflow | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00322-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921882 | 1,441 | 3.734375 | 4 |
Today, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) called upon state leaders across the United States to work with their states' education leaders to ensure cyber security, safety and ethics lessons are integrated in every classroom.
The "No Child Left Behind Act" requires students to be technology literate upon completion of the 8th grade. Accordingly, the National School Boards Association reports that 96 percent of school districts say that at least some of their teachers assign homework requiring Internet use. However, there is still no formal education on how to stay safe, secure and ethical online.
Today, Internet skills are necessary for students to develop 21st century proficiencies, but the Internet, like the real world, has various threats and dangers students may come across in the normal course of a day, like communications from identity thieves, predators and cyber bullies. According to a recent University of Michigan National Poll on Children's Health Issues (May, 2007), adults ranked "Internet Safety" as the 7th most important issue affecting children.
"As more and more children and teens grow up in an online world, it is important they understand how to behave online, and their safety and security depends on whether or not they talk to strangers, place personal information on social networking sites or secure their family's computer," said Ron Teixeira, executive director of the NCSA. "It is critical states and schools implement Internet safety, security and ethics lessons into current technology literacy education efforts in order to protect children from identity theft but also the nation's online infrastructure."
To guarantee children receive a thorough cyber education to help them avoid most threats they may face online, cyber awareness programs must incorporate cyber ethics, safety and security (C3) principles. Not doing so could lull students into a false sense of confidence. The C3 principles provide a balanced approach that gives students the practical knowledge and skills necessary to avoid predators, phishing attacks, cyber bullies, identity thieves and other dangers of the Internet. For the principles at a glance:
Not only do cyber awareness classes teach children ways to protect themselves from cyber criminals, they are also necessary to help students cope with harassment and cyber bullying from other children. According to a 2006 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and University of New Hampshire study, online harassment rose more than 50 percent between 2000 and 2006, and 44 percent of those harassing communications came from the victims' peers. In addition, "one-third of all teens using the Internet have been the victims of cyber-bullying," according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
"If you are teaching your child to ride a bike, your job is not finished until your child is able to do so safely and responsibly," said Nancy Willard, director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use and author of Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens. "It is quite clear that w e need to be addressing cyber ethics, safety, and security. The NCSA's approach provides an excellent model for state leaders to follow in the creation of a comprehensive planning and implementation structure that will bring necessary parties to the table and ensure the delivery of effective instruction and outreach." | <urn:uuid:e344467d-7cad-44d9-9c10-19eec2415181> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.govtech.com/security/Teach-Internet-Safety-and-Security-Says.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00258-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944258 | 642 | 3.875 | 4 |
Google already has Google Glass, but now it's taking the wearable technology concept a big step further: It's developing an electronic skin tattoo for the throat that can act as a microphone for a smartphone, tablet or other device.
Throat microphones were first worn by pilots during World War II to improve wireless communications between the ground and personnel on noisy airplanes.
Now, Google's Motorola Mobility unit plans to put the microphone on a person's throat via an electronic skin tattoo. The tattoo would communicate over Near-Field Communications, Bluetooth, Infrared or other short-range technology to a nearby smartphone, tablet, wearable computer, gaming device or other mobile computer.
The company filed U.S. patent application 13/462881 on Nov. 7 for "Coupling an electronic skin tattoo to a mobile communication device."
The inventor is listed as William Albert Jr.
The tattoo could include an embedded microphone as well as a transceiver for enabling wireless communications with a nearby smartphone. It could also have a power supply to receive energy from another place on the user's body, according to the patent filing.
A throat microphone embedded in an electronic tattoo could help reduce street noise and other nearby sounds that often enter microphones and distort communications.
The application also describes using an electronic tattoo in other ways, including placing it on the throat of an animal to pick up sounds or as a display with a user interface. A specific movement of the throat could cause the display to light up.
The skin tattoo could even include a galvanic skin response detector to act as a lie detector. "It is contemplated that a user that may be nervous or engaging in speaking falsehoods may exhibit different galvanic skin response than a more confident, truth telling individual," the application says.
Google didn't respond to a request to comment on the patent application.
Analysts said the concept fits into a general trend toward using voice commands as an interface with computers.
"If this concept gets productized, it means that consumer will have a much-improved, hands-free-experience," said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.
Moorhead noted that the military already actively uses throat microphones.
Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates, said World War II pilots benefited from microphones attached to their throats to cancel out noise. But a tattoo on a throat?
"I'm not sure how many users would be willing to get a tattoo just to have a conversation on their phones," Gold said. "Some might think it's cool, but mass market?"
Part of the motivation for making the patent application is just the sheer explosion in mobile devices and the need to create new technologies to compete.
"This application shows that vendors are thinking outside the box to find new ways to solve some problems," Gold said. "You'll likely see a whole lot more experimentation for input-output methods and some will catch on in the next three to five years."
It could take years for the new Motorola patent application to be reviewed and possibly approved.
Read more about emerging technologies in Computerworld's Emerging Technologies Topic Center.
This story, "Google wants tattoo to act as smartphone microphone" was originally published by Computerworld. | <urn:uuid:60d9d66a-7150-41db-bb4f-680a04485d77> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.networkworld.com/article/2171726/data-center/google-wants-tattoo-to-act-as-smartphone-microphone.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00258-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953446 | 659 | 2.515625 | 3 |
That is enabling companies to do things they couldn't do a few years ago, according to Richard Winter, president of Waltham, Mass.,-based Winter Corp., a consulting shop which specializes in very large database installations.
Winter, who periodically surveys his customers about the size of their databases, estimates that the largest commercial databases in use today are in the range of 50 terabytes.
Based on what his clients are telling him, by next year that figure could climb to around 75 terabytes, he says.
To put that amount of data in perspective, consider that to store one single terabyte of data on paper would require some 150 miles of bookshelves, according to Winter.
Faster Than Moore's Law
The rapid growth of data is partly a result of the steady decline in the cost of disk drives, he says. "The price of storage capacity has been dropping by half roughly every nine months," Winter says. "That's twice as fast as Moore's law, which says that the number of units on a chip doubles every 18 months."
That's a key enabling factor, according to Winter, because large databases require even larger storage facilities.
"With commercial databases," he says "the ratio of total storage to actual data is about five to one, on average."
That means that typically only one fifth of the disk space is being used for the actual database. The rest goes to indexing, mirroring or free space for growth of the database, Winter says.
The exact ratio of data to storage depends both on the individual application, and on the database technology being used. Major players in the very large database space include Oracle, IBM, Sybase and NCR's Teradata division.
Larger databases will inevitably mean larger storage area networks or other storage structures, says Winter. "If we're seeing commercial databases of 75, or maybe even 100 terabytes next year, then the total storage associated with those is probably going to be in the range of 500 terabytes, or half a petabyte," he says.
Oceans of New Data
And databases are growing rapidly.
"We've seen over the last few years that video cameras connected to computers have gotten incredibly cheap," says Winter. "And not just video, all the devices that gather data are getting smaller, faster and cheaper all the time. So the technology of capturing data is improving rapidly, and the number of devices that capture data is growing, and that results in rapidly growing oceans of data that are available for scientific and commercial analysis."
These vast quantities of data are opening up new avenues of research for some companies.
"The advances of the last several years are enabling new applications," says Winter. "In many industries, it has not been economically practical until now to retain full transaction detail for long term analysis. Large retailers are now at the point where they can store as much as seven years of full transaction detail, for example, which is allowing them to really look at the details of customer purchase patterns." | <urn:uuid:a30a75e4-ee71-4c8b-af3f-45c922cfd0bc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.cioupdate.com/trends/article.php/2217351/Rapidly-Falling-Storage-Costs-Mean-Bigger-Databases-New-Applications.htm | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00560-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965943 | 612 | 2.640625 | 3 |
It’s easy to hide data inside the Wikipedia pages. But before I explain how, understand that the general principle of what I will explain applies to most sites where users can edit content. They can all be used as a covert channel, but Wikipedia has become so common that it would have passed under my radar when performing a forensic investigation. But not anymore.
You can use the Wikipedia Sandbox to experiment while avoiding the wrath of the Wiki gods.
Select the edit this page tab to start editing the article:
Prepare the data you want to store on Wikipedia by converting it to a base64 representation (you can ZIP and/or encrypt it before converting it to base64). Insert the base64 data as a hidden comment inside the page:
Save your changes first, and then undo your changes via the history tab:
That’s it! From now on, you can retrieve your data by comparing versions:
So how can you detect and prevent this? Head over to the PaulDotCom Community Blog for the answer, where I’m a guest blogger. | <urn:uuid:ee482e2a-61cc-4865-9777-8c0d17e0fb89> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://blog.didierstevens.com/2008/03/31/hiding-inside-wikipedia/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00560-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.884719 | 222 | 2.734375 | 3 |
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Embed code for: 5 Beginning of minerals
Select a size
These are the notes taken on 10/17-10/19.
What do you think a mineral is? (Give Examples)
Are minerals valuable?
Describe the mineral at your table.
Agenda: Mineral Basics
Characteristics of Minerals
mineral a natural, usually inorganic solid that has a characteristic chemical composition, an orderly internal structure, and a characteristic set of physical properties.
To be a mineral, a substance must have four characteristics:
it must be inorganic-it cannot be made of or by living things;
it must occur naturally-it cannot be man-made;
it must be a crystalline solid;
it must have a consistent chemical composition.
Characteristics of Minerals, continued
The diagram below shows the four characteristics of minerals.
Kinds of Minerals
The 20 most common minerals are called rock-forming minerals because they form the rocks that make up Earth’s crust.
Ten minerals make up 90% of Earth’s crust: quartz, orthoclase, plagioclase, muscovite, biotite, calcite, dolomite, halite, gypsum, and ferromagnesian minerals.
All minerals can be classified into two main groups-silicate minerals and nonsilicate minerals-based on their chemical compositions.
Kinds of Minerals, continued
silicate mineral a mineral that contains a combination of silicon and oxygen and that may also contain one or more metals
Common silicate minerals include quartz, feldspars, and ferromagnesian minerals, such as amphiboles, pyroxenes, and olivines.
Silicate minerals make up 96% of Earth’s crust. Quartz and feldspars alone make up more than 50% of the crust.
nonsilicate mineral a mineral that does not contain compounds of silicon and oxygen
Nonsilicate minerals comprise about 4% of Earth’s crust.
Nonsilicate minerals are organized into six major groups based on their chemical compositions:
carbonates, halides, native elements, oxides, sulfates, and sulfides.
(Foldable of nonsilicates using book)
Double check understanding
What compound of elements will you never find in a nonsilicate mineral?
Nonsilicate minerals never contain compounds of silicon bonded to oxygen.
Each type of mineral is characterized by a specific geometric arrangement of atoms, or its crystalline structure.
crystal a solid whose atoms, ions, or molecules are arranged in a regular, repeating pattern.
One way that scientists study the structure of crystals is by using X rays. X rays that pass through a crystal and strike a photographic plate produce an image that shows the geometric arrangement of the atoms that make up the crystal.
Crystalline Structure of Silicate Minerals
silicon-oxygen tetrahedron the basic unit of the structure of silicate minerals; a silicon ion chemically bonded to and surrounded by four oxygen ions
Isolated Tetrahedral Silicates
In minerals that have isolated tetrahedra, only atoms other than silicon and oxygen atoms like silicon-oxygen tetrahedra together.
Olivine is an isolated tetrahedral silicate.
Crystalline Structure of Silicate Minerals, continued
What is the building block of the silicate crystalline structure?
The building block of the silicate crystalline structure is a four-sided structure known as the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron, which is one silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms.
Ring silicates form when shared oxygen atoms join the tetrahedra to form three-, four-, or six-sided rings.
Beryl and tourmaline are ring silicates.
In single-chain silicates, each tetrahedron is bonded to two others by shared oxygen atoms.
Most single-chain silicates are called pyroxenes.
In double-chain silicates, two single chains of tetrahedra bond to each other.
Most double-chain silicates are called amphiboles.
In the sheet silicates, each tetrahedron shares three oxygen atoms with other tetrahedra. The fourth oxygen atom bonds with an atom of aluminum or magnesium, which joins the sheets together.
The mica minerals, such as muscovite and biotite, are sheet silicates.
In the framework silicates, each tetrahedron is bonded to four neighboring tetrahedra to form a three-dimensional network.
Frameworks that contain only silicon-oxygen tetrahedra are the mineral quartz.
Other framework silicates contain some tetrahedra in which atoms of aluminum or other metals substitute for some of the silicon atoms.
Quartz and feldspars are framework silicates.
The diagram below shows the tetrahedral arrangement of framework silicate minerals.
Crystalline Structure of Nonsilicate Minerals
Because nonsilicate minerals have diverse chemical compositions, nonsilicate minerals display a vast variety of crystalline structures.
Common crystalline structures for nonsilicate minerals include cubes, hexagonal prisms, and irregular masses.
The structure of a nonsilicate crystal determines the mineral’s characteristics.
In the crystal structure called closest packing, each metal atom is surrounded by 8 to 12 other metal atoms that are as close to each other as the charges of the atomic nuclei will allow.
P. 116, 1-9
ls make up 96% of Earth’s crust. Quartz and feldspars alone make up more than 50% of the crust. | <urn:uuid:e35096a0-5df9-4ca9-af7c-6b2e93f1ba14> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://docs.com/alison-lane/5253/5-beginning-of-minerals | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00194-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.84755 | 1,251 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country and the 18-24 year old age group of consumers is often hit hard by identity thieves. Each year, thousands of students go off to college and are unaware of the numerous threats to their identities that exist on campus.
Intersections, a provider identity risk management services, recommends the following tips for college students and their parents to proactively protect their identities:
1. When using campus computers and Wi-Fi hotspots, be aware that they aren’t always secure. Ensure you are using encryption (i.e. anti-key logging software, or password protection) to scramble communications over the network. It is best not to view personal information on open campus networks.
2. Keep your information secure by changing your passwords frequently. Keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software up-to-date with the latest releases. And if you’re using your laptop around campus, always take it with you to ensure your hard drive isn’t compromised.
3. Credit offers abound on college campuses. Walk through a student union and you can stop and smell the free t-shirts, water bottles, and key chains that banks offer college students when they sign up for credit cards. While it’s a great idea to start building credit, read the offers – and the fine print carefully – and understand exactly what you’re signing up for.
4. Social networking sites are hot spots for most college students. Reveal as little as possible about yourself, especially family name, address, phone numbers, date of birth – identity thieves only need two or three pieces of this information to steal your identity.
5. Protect and memorize your Social Security number. Don’t carry your SSN card with you, and if your college uses Social Security numbers as student IDs, request they generate a random number instead. Most schools will do this when asked.
6. Invest in a good cross-cut shredder and properly dispose of all personal and financial materials. Be aware that information you receive contains personal information that, if stolen, could have serious ramifications. Credit card offers you receive in the mail should be shredded. Bank statements, tax documents – and other documents with personal information – should be securely stored until it is appropriate to shred. And never leave this information out in your dorm room or anywhere it could be compromised.
7. Online shopping is convenient, but be sure the sites you use are secure by looking for “https” in the URL. Check with sites’ privacy policies so you know what they may be doing with your personal information, or if they’ve attached cookies to your computer, enabling them to track your viewing and usage patterns.
8. Start the process of routinely reviewing your credit report. Under a new Federal law, you have the right to receive a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies.
9. If you’re using peer-to-peer file sharing programs, be sure to configure the files securely so personal information is not accessible to others.
10. Be wary of telemarketing scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Never give your personal information to a caller. | <urn:uuid:9ec70524-5392-4656-b681-d656db210fb1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2009/08/19/10-tips-on-ways-to-avoid-identity-theft-at-college/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280850.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00010-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926228 | 677 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Mount a block special device or remote filesystem
mount [-wruv] [-t type [-o options] [special] mountpoint] mount [-wruv] [-T type [-o options] special [mountpoint]] mount [-wruv] -e [-t|T type] [-o options] special [mountpoint] mount
- Enumerate the children of the special device.
- -o options
- Options specific to the server doing the mounting.
These options include:
- before — Mount the filesystem so that it's resolved before any other filesystems mounted at the same pathname (in other words, it's placed in front of any existing mount). When you access a file, the system looks on this filesystem first.
- after — Mount the filesystem so that it's resolved after any other filesystems mounted at the same pathname (in other words, it's placed behind any existing mount). When you access a file, the system looks on this filesystem last, and only if the file wasn't found on any other filesystems.
For more information, see Ordering mountpoints in the Process Manager chapter of the System Architecture guide.
- Mount the device as read-only.
- -T type … special [mountpoint]
- The special device is a string that may specify a real device or may be just a hint for the server. If mountpoint isn't specified, the server will automatically create an appropriate mountpoint.
- -t type … [special] mountpoint
- If the optional special string is given, the mount request goes to the server which created, or is responsible for, the special device. If this special device does not exist, the server interprets the string as a hint. If special is not given, it is passed as NULL.
- Mount for update (remount).
- Increase the verbosity.
- Mount the device as read/write. This is the default (if the physical media permit).
- Where the device is to be mounted on your system.
- The name of the special device.
- The type of filesystem or manager to mount:
type: Filesystem or manager: cd fs-cd.so dos fs-dos.so io-audio io-audio io-pkt io-pkt-v4, io-pkt-v4-hc, io-pkt-v6-hc io-usb io-usb nfs fs-nfs2 , fs-nfs3 qnx6 fs-qnx6.so udf fs-udf.so
If you don't specify the filesystem, mount tries to determine which to use. If it can't figure out which to use, it uses qnx4.Specify io-pkt for type no matter which of io-pkt-v4, io-pkt-v4-hc, or io-pkt-v6-hc you're mounting.
Without options, mount displays the current mountpoints. With options set, this utility mounts the block special device or remote filesystem, special, as the specified mountpoint. To mount a real special device, use the -t option; to specify a special-device string (which isn't necessarily a real device), use -T.
Similarly, if you mounted the filesystem as read-only and then remount it, the filesystem returns to its default setting.
To maintain the settings, specify the options again using the -o option for the mount command. For example:
mount -u -o noatime ...
Mount a QNX 4 filesystem on a hard drive as /mnt/fs:
mount -t qnx4 /dev/hd0t77 /mnt/fs
Mount a device driver for io-pkt*. In this example, devn-ne2000.so is the name of the shared object that io-pkt* needs to load for the driver, not the name of a real device:
mount -T io-pkt devn-ne2000.so
If you want to pass options to the driver, use the -o option before the name of the shared object:
mount -T io-pkt -o mac=12345678 devn-ne2000.so
Enumerate the hard disk partition table:
mount -e /dev/hd0
This will re-read the disk partition table for /dev/hd0, and create, update or delete /dev/hd0tXX block-special files for each partition. This is used in the following two scenarios:
- when the disk driver is used without any automatic enumeration (blk auto=none), or
- when the partition table has been modified (for example, with fdisk ).
Mount an NFS 2 client filesystem (fs-nfs2 must be running first):
mount -T nfs 10.1.0.22:/home /mnt/home
Mount an NFS 3 client filesystem (fs-nfs3 must be running first):
mount -T nfs -o ver3 server_node:/qnx_bin /bin
Display the current mountpoints:
Mount the shared object that supports Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI) USB controllers:
mount -T io-usb devu-ehci.so /dev/io-usb/io-usb
Remount the filesystem that's currently mounted at / as read-only:
mount -ur /
Remount the filesystem that's currently mounted at / as read-write:
mount -uw / | <urn:uuid:47c6a182-4b17-4df9-87d0-e71950cd6cbf> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://developer.blackberry.com/playbook/native/reference/com.qnx.doc.neutrino.utilities/topic/m/mount.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00404-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.793523 | 1,172 | 3.265625 | 3 |
A teenager in the Washington suburb of Reston, Va., is seeking help from Twitter and Facebook to track how people are talking about the epidemic of online bullying.
Viraj Puri, 13, has already built a simple heat map that offers a daily catalog of when Tweeters use the terms “bully” or “bullying.” He’s working with researchers at Georgetown University and the University of Wisconsin to expand the heat map to examine when the words are used in a positive and negative light. With help from Facebook and Twitter, Puri said, he and the researchers could fine tune that data to better track the national conversation about bullying.
“We know we can do this, it’s just a matter of gaining access to the data, which would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars without help from Twitter and Facebook,” Puri said.
Data from the improved heat map could be used by policy makers to target areas where bullying is especially prominent, Puri said, and parents could look at it when considering a move just as they’d look at the quality of a school district.
Twitter, where most posts are public by default, sells much of its data to researchers and companies looking to track their reach. Facebook, where most individual posts are restricted to some extent, is much more guarded about its data.
Puri edits the teen bullying blog Bullyvention and has been recognized by the Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus, chaired by Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., a Japanese-American who was placed in an internment camp during World War II.
It’s difficult to track conversations about bullying because the word is often used generically online, Puri said.
“The media world use the term bully and bullying extensively to describe Chris Christie’s actions in New Jersey,” Puri said. “As you can imagine, that has nothing to do with how a 13 year old feels about being bullied at school or on the playground.” | <urn:uuid:1ffab636-53a9-46a3-aea7-a0d46f4887b2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/emerging-tech-blog/2014/01/teen-uses-data-track-conversation-about-bullying/77102/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281331.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00340-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962836 | 418 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Museums increasingly leverage environment control systems
Thursday, Mar 28th 2013
While most scientific research occurs in university settings or by government agencies, museums are also critical in furthering human knowledge. As a result, these institutions are increasingly leveraging environment control systems that include temperature and humidity monitoring to protect priceless artifacts and to ensure that historical relics stay in pristine condition.
In fields such as history, paleontology and archeology, the items being researched can be thousands and even millions of years old. In addition, many of the artifacts inspected are made up of organic materials that tend to break down over time. As a result, the combination of degradation forces like time and corrosion makes these historically important items extremely fragile, according to the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NDCC).
To help combat and slow down these degenerative forces, researchers and academics working in museums and other artifact-holding facilities are far more frequently turning to environment control systems. While humidity and temperature monitoring cannot undo or completely halt the damage caused by the centuries, state-of-the-art sensors can ensure that priceless items remain intact in their current condition for as long as possible, according to NDCC preservation consultant Beth Lindblom Patkus.
"Books, photographs, and other paper-based artifacts are vulnerable to damage from their environment," she wrote. "Heat, moisture, light, and pollutants produce destructive chemical reactions. Warmth and damp promote biological processes like mold and insect infestation. While some materials used to produce books, documents, and art on paper have proven quite durable, others (like ground wood pulp and acidic inks) deteriorate rapidly under adverse conditions. Museums, libraries, and historical societies are subject to the same phenomena as any other buildings, but have an extraordinary responsibility for preserving their collections for future generations. While we cannot eliminate all of the causes for decay of our cultural records without forfeiting access to our collections, we can greatly slow deterioration by moderating the environment."
According to the NDCC, museums need their environment control systems to account for a wide variety of variables, as even seemingly innocuous factors can cause a lot of damage. However, the two most important variables to deal with are temperature and humidity. Although ideal moisture and temperature levels vary depending on the materials present in a historic artifact and its present condition, typically conditions below 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 30 percent relative humidity are considered the gold standard. To monitor the environment, Lindblom Patkus recommended using a reliable humidity and temperature sensor.
Art preservationists increasingly rely on environment control systems
While all museums must diligently monitor external conditions to best preserve their stores, the damaging effects of temperature and relative humidity are especially a concern for art museums. After all, many of the most notable pieces of artwork are older and are comprised of materials prone to degrading over time. Considering that the value of these items often lies in their uniqueness, the need to preserve these artifacts becomes even greater. According to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, excess humidity can even change the shape and outward appearance of a painting.
"Acute changes in temperature and humidity will cause swelling and contraction as the materials in an object or artifact attempt to adjust to the environment," the museum said on its website. "Objects are often composed of more than one type of material. Each material responds differently to water vapor in the air and adjusts to its particular EMC (equilibrium moisture content) at different relative humidities. Of particular concern are the internal stresses created by expansion and contraction of the different materials as moisture diffuses into or out of the surrounding air."
To ensure that one of its renowned Rembrandt paintings can viewed for years in the future, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is turning to a monitoring system. Before the painter's 1642 piece The Nightwatch goes back on display next month, the museum will line the work with a variety of external sensors, Dutch News reported. | <urn:uuid:d1736164-a7b8-4d1c-8d44-52bb741bfa4a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.itwatchdogs.com/environmental-monitoring-news/research-labs/museums-increasingly-leverage-environment-control-systems-412861 | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00248-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940865 | 788 | 3.03125 | 3 |
The reality of the Internet of Things reaches far beyond households and smart devices. The electricity and energy industries are investing billions into IoT technology—estimated to be $201 billion by 2018. In fact, the global number of devices being managed by utility companies is projected to grow from 485 million in 2013 to 1.53 billion in 2020.
Because the Industrial IoT is gaining leverage, there has been a fundamental shift in advanced energy production and distribution technology, management, and operations. For energy companies, this entails greater flexibility to accommodate new energy sources and better management of resources and processes, which leads to the enablement of new business models and services. For utilities, the smart grid era ushered in by IoT means more data to be analyzed and managed, but also better efficiency and integration.
As in other industries, IoT platforms process huge volumes of data, which can become vulnerable to hacking if not secured. Ensuring energy and utility companies, as well as their connected technology and applications, are secure must be a priority.
To talk to an expert, call 1-801-877-2119 »Let Us Contact You
Securing Energy and the Power Grid
Reshaping the power industry demands a more flexible smart grid that can handle multiple energy sources such as wind and solar. With IoT the grid evolves from a constrained system, where power can only flow from centralized generation stations to consumers, to a platform that can detect, accept, and control decentralized consumption and production assets so power and information can flow as needed in various directions. This means there is much more hackable data that must be secured.
The world has already seen the results of energy hacking. In December 2015, half of the houses in Ukrainian city Ivano-Frankivsk were under blackout because of an APT Black Energy attack. The same year, cybercriminals attacked Kemuri Water Company and hacked into the systems responsible for adding chemicals to clean the water. With a more distributed system, the attack surface increases, further emphasizing the need for pervasive security throughout an ecosystem.
Security Solutions for the Enery/Utilities IoT
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is the solution for the merge of energy and the Internet of Things because it addresses the critical components of secure messaging: authentication, encryption, and data integrity. PKI uses digital certificates to authenticate and identify a device, system, or network, which means that only trusted devices are permitted to transmit messages. Certificates encrypt all communications, upholding transferred data integrity. DigiCert PKI provides comprehensive solutions for industries adopting IoT.
Talk to an IoT PKI Expert
If you have specific questions about our PKI solution for securing your IoT devices, please enter your information in the form below, and an IoT security expert will contact you for a personal consultation.
|Request More Information|
|Fill out this form to request more information or call an expert at 1-801-877-2119.| | <urn:uuid:6087abf0-af3f-49f6-a3fe-df6bb286c024> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.digicert.com/internet-of-things/energy-utilities-internet-of-things.htm | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282631.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00092-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924364 | 594 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Even with the most carefully thought-out disaster planning, unintended consequences and sub-par performance can often be the result. In part, these undesirable outcomes occur because they are based on theory rather than actual experience.
In many areas subject to specific natural disasters, the incident response or disaster plan might be called, “Earthquake Preparedness Plan” or “Flood Response Protocol,” depending on location — the missing link in these cases lies in the fact that these plans likely don’t consider the totality of the circumstances of most disasters. In fact, many natural disaster incident response plans don’t consider the cybersecurity elements of a disaster sufficiently enough to keep a business up-and-running post-disaster, and they ultimately fail in protecting the business altogether.
What’s in a Typical Emergency Preparedness Plan?
When your IT disaster plan is really a natural disaster plan, then it likely includes required emergency supplies, a contact list or staff directory with alternate contact information, and a plan for a backup office or an alternate location. Typically, there are pages upon pages of information as to how to deal with the physical effects of a disaster, such as how to handle aftershocks, downed power lines, shattered glass, unstable masonry, power outages and data loss.
What’s Not Included in a Standard Emergency Preparedness Plan?
Most EPPs are not based on a realistic assessment of the risks to facilities, IT infrastructure, staff and operations. For example, there is unlikely to be an assessment of how the interior and exterior physical damage to a building will affect the IT infrastructure and hardware going forward. While an EPP might contain information that helps to prepare IT systems before a disaster, it probably doesn’t adequately address post-disaster measures that will support efforts to restore damaged IT assets.
Typical Gaps in Common Emergency Preparedness Plans
If it is primarily focused on natural disasters, your EPP probably has some glaring coverage gaps when it comes to the more common and more probable disasters such as burst plumbing and cybersecurity attacks. While an earthquake is much more dramatic than a burst pipe, a burst pipe with its related flooding is much more likely to occur. A comprehensive disaster plan will cover all risks to your IT systems and architecture, including data breach and data loss — in addition to other potential incidents such as fire, gas leaks, flooding, toxic spills, winter storms, power outages, high winds and pandemics. It will address how to deal with post-disaster shortages of water, food, prescription drugs, fuel and power.
In addition to being narrowly focused, many disaster plans fall short in the areas of adequately trained staff due to lack of effective training tools and education. A comprehensive disaster plan will include the following elements:
1. Inventory hardware and software.
An effective disaster response plan will include a complete inventory of hardware and applications in order of priority, with vendor contact and support information attached.
2. Define your business’s ability to withstand downtime and data loss.
A local handyman has a greater tolerance for downtime than a website designer, and finding out where your business is on the spectrum of downtime tolerance can help you define how much to invest in your disaster planning.
3. Lay out who is responsible for what – and identify backup personnel.
All employees should know where they stand in their respective disaster planning roles, including key roles, responsibilities, and parties involved for each level of response.
4. Create a communication plan.
Do your employees know how to communicate in the event of a disaster? Can they access the systems they need to perform their job duties in a post-disaster environment?
5. Let employees know where to go in case of emergency – and have a backup worksite.
Do you have an alternate site in mind if your primary office becomes unavailable? Ensure that all employees know where to go in a post-disaster scenario, including where their desks are and how to access applications and data.
6. Make sure your service-level agreements (SLAs) include incident response and disaster planning.
Make sure you have a defined, binding service-level agreement (SLA) with any incident response contractors you deal with. The agreement should clearly indicate the level of service and anticipated downtime in a post-disaster scenario.
7. Include how to handle sensitive information.
Your SLA should detail the specifics as to how to handle sensitive customer and company data.
8. Test your plan regularly.
All comprehensive incident response plans have regular testing as part of the maintenance of the plan. This not only ensures an effective response in the event of a disaster, it provides peace of mind that your business can stay up-and-running no matter what.
Apex is your local IT incident response, disaster planning and business continuity expert. If you think your business could benefit from a more comprehensive incident response plan, contact us at (800) 310-2739 or send us an email at email@example.com for more information. | <urn:uuid:2e1e62ef-f9d2-4a18-9c97-b53dc2573ceb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.apex.com/is-your-incident-response-plan-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00396-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943288 | 1,038 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Even as a good portion of the United States is buried in snow, experiencing an icy mix or other inclement weather, intelligence agencies have been accused of wanting to weaponize the weather.
We’re not talking about chemtrails, HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) or other weather warfare that has been featured in science fiction movies; the concerns were raised not a conspiracy theorist, but by climate scientist, geoengineering specialist and Rutgers University Professor Alan Robock. He “called on secretive government agencies to be open about their interest in radical work that explores how to alter the world’s climate.” If emerging climate-altering technologies can effectively alter the weather, Robock is “worried about who would control such climate-altering technologies.”
Robock seems especially worried about intelligence agencies weaponizing the weather since climate control is "a potential tool of international conflict.” Examples of using weather as a weapon included:
Some countries might try to create clouds and send them toward an enemy, for example. Or there may be disputes over the "right" temperature, setting off what's been dubbed "the Thermostat Wars" -- if Indonesia wants cooling to avoid sea level rise and Russia wants warming to increase agricultural production, for instance.
Geoengineering has the potential to change the climate such as by blocking the sun’s rays or by sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. In San Jose on Saturday, a panel of experts at an American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting suggested that it’s time to move past computer modeling geoengineering studies; “it's time to do real-world testing.”
If a geoengineering test went whacko, it could potentially affect billions of people since we all share this beautiful planet. Since geoengineering is not currently regulated, "If some nations decide this year to embark on a crude untested experimental attempt to do it, we cannot prevent it." US scientists are “calling for a strong, international authority to regulate man-made interventions meant to combat global warming amid fears that the technology could be harmful to the environment.”
Climate change as a national security issue
“The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it,” President Obama said in his State of the Union address. Climate change as a national security issue has been a hotly debated topic in the past. Yet the “Pentagon manages more than 555,000 facilities and 28 million acres of land — virtually all of which will be impacted by climate change in some way,” states a Rolling Stone magazine article about “how deniers put national security at risk.” The “Pentagon is examining its 704 coastal installations and sites in a big study to try to figure out which bases are most at risk. Eventually some tough decisions will have to be made about which ones to close, relocate or protect.”
The National Academy of Sciences recently published climate intervention reports; one report suggested a solution of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and another report (pdf) focused on ways to reflect sunlight to cool the Earth. Due to “cost and lack of technical maturity,” removing carbon dioxide is not currently a viable option; even if it was it “would work slowly to reduce global temperatures.” Albedo “is the technical term for the proportion of sunlight that Earth’s surface and atmosphere reflect back to space;” there are no federal laws or regulations specifically addressing albedo modification. That report states:
Given the enormous uncertainties associated with albedo modification, the current level of understanding of the climate system, and the alternatives available to slow or reverse the build-up of greenhouse gases, the Committee does not recommend climate-altering deployment of albedo modification at this time.
CIA curious if weaponized weather control could be detected
The $600,000 report was part-funded by the US intelligence services, but Robock said the CIA and other agencies had not fully explained their interest in the work.
“The CIA was a major funder of the National Academies report so that makes me really worried who is going to be in control,” he said. Other funders included NASA, the US Department of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"I got a phone call from two men who said we work as consultants for the CIA and we'd like to know if some other country was controlling our climate, would we know about it?," he said, during a debate on the use of geo-engineering to combat climate change, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Jose, California.
"I told them, after thinking a little bit, that we probably would because if you put enough material in the atmosphere to reflect sunlight we would be able to detect it and see the equipment that was putting it up there.
"At the same time I thought they were probably also interested in if we could control somebody else's climate, could they detect it?"
But wait, there’s more as Robock claimed the U.S. government has a history of using the weather in hostile ways, citing the seeding of clouds over Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War “to make the major supply route for North Vietnamese foot soldiers too muddy to pass” as well as over Cuba “to make it rain and ruin the sugar harvest.”
Robock added, “I think this research should be out in the open and it has to be international so there won’t be any question that this technology will used for hostile purposes.”
Weather is a great equalizer and nature is often scary, leaving people feeling helpless as a tornado or hurricane rips through. To people who believe weaponizing the weather is a good idea, I suggest you spend some time watching science fiction movies and disaster flicks because it usually doesn’t work out so well. And that's before considering if hackers could exploit any potentential vulnerabilities in technologies that could weild weather as a weapon. | <urn:uuid:369aa53b-501b-46ea-af39-f6247e669c7c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.computerworld.com/article/2883763/climate-researcher-claims-cia-asked-about-weaponized-weather-what-could-go-wrong.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280900.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00120-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957226 | 1,269 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Many young people are unwilling to pull up their roots and move far away for a job that might offer a better salary, but not much security.
An article in the New York Times earlier this year coined the phrase “the Nowhere Generation” for today’s twenty-something’s. The number of them moving to another state has fallen by over 40 percent since the 1980s, according to calculations based on Census Bureau data. Many prefer to stick in lower-paid jobs close to where they were brought up rather than head off across the country in search of more lucrative positions that might never materialize.
The recession played a major role in this trend. With youth unemployment stuck at around 17% and college graduates saddled with huge student loans, there are fewer jobs available in general. So it makes sense that many young people are unwilling to pull up their roots and move far away for a job that might offer a better salary, but not much security.
Making matters worse, cities such as San Francisco and New York are getting too expensive to afford, while places that grew quickly back in the early 2000s, like Phoenix and Las Vegas, are still slowly creeping out of the recession.
The migration was a slowing trend even before the economic crisis killed it stone dead. The Times story quoted figures from the Pew Research Center, stating that the proportion of young adults living at home nearly doubled between 1980 and 2008, before the recession began.
So what else is going on here? Many commentators argue today’s young people simply don’t have the energy to hit the highway in search of a good job. Generation Y is now Generation “Why Bother?”
But Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a research professor in psychology at Clark University has challenged this popular view. According to his analysis of a regular poll he conducts on “emerging adults”, 75% want to be independent, but they are forced to depend on their Mom and Dad for handouts.
It’s also complicated by the fact that the tough jobs situation hasn’t dimmed this generation’s idealism. Some 85 percent of respondents said they would prefer a job that made a difference. “It’s not just about having money and forgetting about everybody else,” Arnett told the Huffington Post.
That’s backed up by a comment in the New York Times piece by the director of polling at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, who says young people want to stay close to their friends and family and are willing to pass up good jobs elsewhere so they can remain in their hometowns.
The answer surely is to try to turn this generation on to entrepreneurialism. You don’t want to move away, but there aren’t any jobs at home? OK, make your own job. You want your independence? Then do something to make yourself financially self-reliant.
The Fix Young America campaign wants to combat youth unemployment and underemployment by encouraging people to start their own companies. It wants state and federal government to do more to help young entrepreneurs, including deferring or writing off some or all of their student loans and helping them get access to funding.
How can we turn today’s Generation “Why Bother” into Generation “Why Don’t We Do It Ourselves”. Let us know your thoughts below. | <urn:uuid:c5658f4c-2dd3-4984-ac2b-58eea9691f09> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.hiscox.com/small-business-insurance/blog/has-generation-y-lost-its-entrepreneurial-spirit/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00333-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963106 | 701 | 2.609375 | 3 |
As the demand for energy-efficient technology increases all over the world, suppliers have been struggling to find ways to ensure optimum use of energy while avoiding waste. Smart grid is one such concept which is said to improve the energy usage and reduce costs for both customers and suppliers alike.
The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative has recently published a report about the awareness, or the lack there of it, of smart grid technology.
According to the report, common consumers don’t really have a fair idea of the smart grid industry. But when explained, they like the idea and are open to implement smart grid solutions in their homes.
But first, here is a disclaimer from the research study: as many people would like to believe, smart grid technology does not necessarily save consumers any money, but there are other benefits that are compelling.
A smart grid is an electrical grid that collects information about energy usage and helps users and suppliers to enhance the efficiency, dependability, monetary considerations, and sustainability of that energy.
“In summary, we’ve found that once consumers are educated about smart grid, they are supportive of it,” Patty Durand, executive director of SGCC, said in a statement. “So the opportunity to further engage with our consumers only gets bigger. Armed with research, facts, figures, knowledge and a vision, industry can continue to educate its customers.”
Recently, the company published a study where it also stated that consumers are interested in various smart grid-enabled pricing programs and services. The study revealed that consumers are likely to use social media to access energy information. The Consumer Pulse (News - Alert) Survey Wave 3, undertaken from August 17 to September 5, by Market Strategies International, determined respondents' impressions of smart grid and smart meters.
Edited by Stefanie Mosca | <urn:uuid:00cf095e-e445-419f-9bb2-5b7f76e4296a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.iotevolutionworld.com/topics/smart-grid/articles/2012/12/31/321116-smart-grid-consumer-collaborative-publishes-report-smart-grid.htm | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00149-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947725 | 370 | 3.09375 | 3 |
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that suicide is currently the second leading cause of death among persons aged 10 to 24 years old in the United States.
Several states, including Missouri, South Dakota and South Carolina have seen drastic increases in teen suicide in 2015. According to the Department of Education, one reservation in South Dakota had over 100 suicide attempts and 12 suicide deaths during the 2014-15 school year.
According to the recent statistics from the CDC, approximately 16% of high school students have reported considering suicide. Some 13% of those actually created a plan for execution, and 50% considering the idea later followed through within the next year.
These disturbing statistics are a call to action for educators and school administrators to take every possible measure to prevent student suicide. In fact, The CDC recommends early prevention as a primary means of helping young people avoid developing suicidal ideation.
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) tells teachers and administrators to look for the signs of immediate risk for suicide. The three top behaviors include:
In this technologically connected world, the primary place that these controversial conversations are taking place are online; on emails, social media, and app chat rooms. That’s why it is more important than ever for schools to have a network management software in place with flagged monitoring for all devices connected to the internet.
Here is a helpful SPRC handout on the role of the high school teacher in preventing teen suicide.
What is online monitoring?
Monitoring is an Internet safety feature in behavior management software that protects students from online risks. Behavior management and monitoring software is fundamentally different from content-filtering software. Filters allow or deny access to websites. Behavior management software uses categories, such as lists of words or phrases, to capture and identify inappropriate activity on PCs, laptops, and other digital devices.
Once captured, a screenshot is taken and forwarded to a school teacher or administrator along with other identifying features, such as a screenshot identifying a concerning word or phrase, a logged-in user, or an IP address, etc. When students use certain keywords, the software alerts the teacher. This can identify suicidal conversations and behaviors right away, which might otherwise go unnoticed, so school staff can intervene, provide the necessary support and prevent the unimaginable.
How has monitoring helped detect suicidal tendencies of students?
The monitoring of keywords specifically for suicide using Impero Education Pro has been in place in classrooms across the UK for several years. Recently, one UK school reported that because of Education Pro they were able to prevent three suicides in the past year alone. That is three lives of students that were saved by monitoring their activity online during class. Think of how many lives could be saved across the country and around the world by using keyword monitoring!
Helping students report suicidal behavior
Impero Education Pro behavior management software provides students with a confidential way of reporting any questionable online activities to authorities through its Confide function. Students can find comfort knowing that their submissions are anonymous. They can safely report a peer, or even their own depression without anyone else knowing. This function alone could possibly save a life.
The future of Education Pro
At present in the US, Impero Education Pro software provides schools with the ability to create custom keyword lists for monitoring students, which is the first step in preventing suicides, cyberbullying, eating disorders, and simply keeping kids safe online. Within the next year, however, Impero will be rolling out a keyword library specifically geared toward suicide prevention. This library will be free of charge for those schools who currently have the Education Pro product, and for new purchases of the software.
For a comprehensive explanation of behavior management software, Internet safety monitoring, and Impero Education Pro, you can download a whitepaper here.
Find out more about how Impero education network management software can help your school in the early prevention of student suicide by requesting free demos and trials on our website. Talk to our team of education experts by calling 877.883.4370, or by emailing Impero now to arrange a call back. | <urn:uuid:b30bebdf-6f0c-45ff-a107-1cafe85182d5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.imperosoftware.com/addressing-and-preventing-suicide-by-monitoring-students-online/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283008.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00203-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946103 | 827 | 3.09375 | 3 |
For many years, the type of codecs developed for Voice over IP networks have been made with static sampling and transmission rates. For instance, G711a or u law, which is also known as PCM (pulse code modulation), has a sampling rate of 64 Kbps and will generate a fixed payload of 160 bytes every 20 milliseconds. This codec has been used in the industry as the leading high-quality voice transmission codec, and is used within high speed network environments.
Over wide area network links, the PCM codec sampling rate takes too much critical bandwidth however, so a different type of codec was developed, G729 or G729a. This codec has a sampling rate of 8 kbps and only generates 20 bytes of payload for every 20 milliseconds. However, if these voice packets starts to suffer excessive delay or drops then the quality will suffer greatly.
Now codec designers looking at the network congestion issue have come up with a different approach altogether. Instead of just running samples at a fixed rate, the came up with a codec that typically runs at the highest quality based upon current network conditions, but when voice transmission starts to experience undue delay or drops, it downgrades itself to a lower transmission rate dynamically. In other words, the codec will auto-tune itself to actual network load conditions, making it very “elastic“.
There are a couple of codecs that take this approach today and are gaining rapid popularity. The first that comes to mind is RTAudio, a proprietary codec developed by Microsoft for over six years. It is incorporated into many Microsoft product lines, most notably Microsoft Office Communicator (OCS). This codec works so well, that Microsoft has claimed that it will work with perfect clarity in networks that incorporate or don’t incorporate Quality of Service (QoS).
As a skeptic, I decided to put this codec to the test in a lab environment where I saturated a hub (not a switch) with generated traffic and loaded all Ethernet interfaces to their maximum. The G711 codec sample was totally unrecognizable and G729a was extremely rough, but RTAudio was as clear as Sprint’s pin drop commercial. This made a believer out of me on how these new codecs can effectively maintain the highest quality under the most severe network conditions.
RTAudio uses two bands – narrow at 8 Khz and wide-band at 16 Khz – which results in packet sizes of 22 and 45 bytes respectively at a 20 millisecond frame rate. It is probably this reason that today, Microsoft does not incorporate any CAC (call admission control) mechanisms within their OCS deployments.
Another company developing the same type of approach is Speex. They are a open source community developing the next generation of codec and their approach is very close to Microsoft’s. But unlike Microsoft, their codec operates in the narrow-band, wide-band, and ultra-band frequency giving potentially greater quality of voice samples. Additionally, like Microsoft, they have provisioned the following elements within their codec:
- Narrow-band (8 kHz), wideband (16 kHz), and ultra-wideband (32 kHz) compression in the same bitstream
- Intensity stereo encoding
- Packet loss concealment
- Variable bitrate operation (VBR)
- Voice Activity Detection (VAD)
- Discontinuous Transmission (DTX)
- Fixed-point port
- Acoustic echo canceller
- Noise suppression
Both Microsoft’s RT Audio and Speex use codec architecture based upon CELP (code excited liner predictors) which in layman’s terms is a code book of human speech which compares to the actual speech spoken, looks up the code book value for it, and transmits it to the receiver. Additionally, it compares the actual voice sample to the code book version and sends a difference value as well. This is a very crude explanation for a very complicated and complex process.
These are exciting times to see not only the Voice over IP application sets built to streamline corporate communications, but also see how the actual transmission of real time traffic being voice itself is being improved upon.
Overview of the Microsoft RTAudio Speech Codec (.doc file)
Author: Joe Parlas | <urn:uuid:50d04eb0-e1eb-43ed-8ba5-b8cc3a133694> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.globalknowledge.com/2009/10/13/new-generation-of-codecs/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00507-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935713 | 877 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Chromatic dispersion is a phenomenon that is an important factor in fiber optic communications. It is the result of the different colors, or wavelengths, in a light beam arriving at their destination at slightly different times. The result is a spreading, or dispersion, of the on-off light pulses that convey digital information. Special care must be taken to compensate for this dispersion so that the optical fiber delivers its maximum capacity.
Chromatic dispersion is commonplace, as it is actually what causes rainbows-sunlight is dispersed by droplets of water in the air. Sir lsaac Newton observed this phenomenon when he passed sunlight through a prism and saw it diverge into a specturm of differnet colors. This dispersion occurs because differnet colors, or light frequencies, act slightly differently as they pass through a medium such as glass. In fiber-based systems, an optical fiber, comprised of a core and cladding with differing refractive index materials, inevitably causes some wavelengths of light to travel slower or faster than others.
Chromatic dispersion is a serious consideration in long-haul optical fibers. Its effect is essentially to stretch or flatten the initially sharply-defined binary pulses of information. This degradation makes the signals (1s and 0s) more difficult to distinguish form each other at the fat end of the fiber. The result is that at any given length, the effective information capacity, or bandwidth, of the fiber optic cable can be significantly reduced. Dispersion is added as the modulated beam of light, consisting of a number of closely spaced wavelengths, travels down this nearly transpatent waveguide.
The bottom line is that chromatic dispersion becomes a major consideration and must be accounted for when developing or deploying fiber optic equipment for use in telecommunications, cable TV, or other high-speed optical networks.
Fortunately, techniques have been developed that help compensate for the negative effects of chromatic dispersion. One method involves pre-compensating the signal for the anticipated dispersion before it’s sent down the optical fiber. Another method calls for using dispersion compensating fiber at the end of a length to correct or reverse the dispersion that was realized as the signal traversed the optical fiber. As a result, these techniques are widely used to help solve the problem of chromatic dispersion.
Source: M2 Optics | <urn:uuid:a2b66517-82f3-4d11-8619-b707c41902b7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.fs.com/blog/chromatic-dispersion-in-optical-fibers.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00351-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934167 | 484 | 3.9375 | 4 |
Admin Alert: Six Things You May Not Know About i/OS Passwords
August 11, 2010 Timothy Prickett Morgan
Think you know everything about i/OS passwords? Here’s a list of six commonly missed aspects of iSeries, System i, and Power i passwords. If you’re a password pro, you may already be aware of three or more of these tips. If not, you may learn something that can help you enhance your i/OS password architecture.
6 Simple Tips for Better Password Management
1. Two system values can prevent your users from using actual words in their passwords–If you want to stop your users from entering passwords that contain complete words that can be easily hacked, try setting on The Require Digit in Password (QPWDRQDDGT) system value. This system value will force the user to enter at one or more digits in their password, forcing them to at least add a number to the end of a common word to make their password harder to guess. To completely eliminate the use of common words as passwords, use the Limit Characters In Password (QPWDLMTCHR) system value. QPWDLMTCHR does what its name implies: it prevents users from using certain letters in a password. So if you use QPWDLMTCHR to ban the use of any vowels (‘AEIOUY’) in a password, the user cannot designate a complete English word as their password. This technique should also work for passwords on machines that use other language features. Just adjust the restricted characters to match the local dialect. For added security, use both system values and all your user passwords will resemble license plate numbers instead of common dictionary words and phrases.
Be aware, however, that using QPWDLMTCHR to restrict password letters only works if you partition is running at security level ‘0’ or ‘1’ as designated in the Password Level (QPWDLVL) system value. At security level ‘0’ or ‘1’, the maximum password length is 10 characters. If you set your machine’s password level to ‘2’ or ‘3’ (where you can use system pass phrases of up to 128 characters), the Limit Characters system value can be changed but it will not be enforced by the operating system.
2. You can use a combination of system values to prevent your users from re-using an old password for several months or years–By changing two system values in connection with each other, you can stop users from re-using an old password for years. The first thing you need to do is to follow best audit practices and force your users to change their passwords every 90 days or less. This is done by setting the Password Expiration Interval (QPWDEXPITV) system value to 90 days, which is the number of days the current password can be used before it expires. Then set the Password reuse cycle (QPWDRQDDIF) system value, also known as Duplicate password control, to 10 cycles or more. By doing this, the user will be forced to change their password every 90 days, BUT they won’t be able to reuse their original password until they’ve changed their password 10 times. This means that a user signing on to an i/OS system configured this way won’t have the opportunity to reuse a password for about 2.5 years (90-day password expiration * 10 reuse cycles = 900 days =~2.465 years). So if you set your system values right, you can prevent your users from using the exact same password again for a very long time.
3. You can change password configurations graphically (and it’s easier, too)–The good news is that you don’t have to change your password system values on the green screen, making one change at a time without understanding how all the different values fit together. In i/OS V5R4Mx, you can use iSeries Navigator (OpsNav) to change password settings. You open the OpsNav Password System Values screen by clicking on the Configuration and Service→System Values→Password node under your target system in OpsNav.
This will bring up your partition’s Password System Values panel, which will look something like this.
This panel has the following three tabs that you can click on for changing these groups of password-related system parameters.
General–Allows you to set your system’s password level (0-4) and some password infrastructure values.
Validation–Sets up your password minimum and maximum lengths, password composition requirements (i.e., what letters and character combinations are restricted, etc.), and your password re-use cycle values.
Expiration–Used to set up the overall password expiration value for the system.
OpsNav is much easier to use for defining password values in conjunction with each other. It’s one area where I can legitimately say that OpsNav does a better job than green-screen commands.
As an additional bonus, the OpsNav listing of all your password system values are displayed side by side in plain English, which is a great summary for internal documentation or for giving to auditors when they ask for your password composition value settings.
4. Passphrases can be used instead of passwords–Your i/OS box isn’t limited to 10-character passwords. You can easily change your password architecture to accept up to 128-character passphrases that can include special characters, embedded blanks, and upper- and lower-case characters. See this article on implementing 128-character passphrases in i/OS for more information on deploying this capability.
5. When using higher password levels, i/OS password are case sensitive–If you change your Password Level (QPWDLVL) system value to ‘2’ or ‘3’ to implement passphrases or for another reason, be aware that your passwords will now become case sensitive. Case sensitivity doesn’t matter with lower security levels, but it can cause problems when you change QPWDLVL to ‘2’ or ‘3’, especially with companion servers. For example, let’s suppose you change QPWDLVL to ‘2’ and you have a companion server that logs on to your machine with a user profile of IUSER and a password of ‘PASSWORD’. When QPWDLVL was set to ‘0’ or ‘1’, i/OS didn’t worry about case and an automated sign-on with capital letters in its password always worked. But after you set QPWDLVL to ‘2’, i/OS will now start checking the case sensitivity of the enter password (‘PASSWORD’) with the case sensitivity of the password stored on your i/OS machine (‘password’). If the passed-in password and the i/OS password for IUSER do not reconcile, the operating system will refuse the connection attempt even though the upper-case password was acceptable before the change. Watch out for this.
6. i/OS passwords can start with a number, sort of–Here’s an operating system paradox for you. i/OS users cannot change their password to a value starting with a number, BUT in certain situations i/OS users can sign on with a password that starts with a number. Confused? There’s a quirk in i/OS that if a user changes his password to start with the letter ‘Q’ followed by a number (e.g., Q12345), that user will be able to sign on by either using his stated password of Q12345 or by using an alternate password of 12345. Strange, but true. For more information on this unnatural operating system quirk, check out this article on Weird i5 User Profile Sign-On Secrets. What’s the benefit of knowing about this quirk? If you have users who want to synchronize their passwords with systems where the passwords do start with a number, they can use these pseudo-passwords to ensure they always sign on with the same password as their sister system. | <urn:uuid:520c383d-b083-4b48-9ced-f21a24667394> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.itjungle.com/2010/08/11/fhg081110-story03/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00167-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.892544 | 1,726 | 2.90625 | 3 |
A tax assessed by the U.S. government on telecommunications services. Proceeds go to the federal government's general revenue fund.
Who put it on my bill?
United States Congress (1898)
What is it?
Taxes assessed by the United States government on telecommunications services. It was created in 1898 as a luxury tax to pay for the Spanish-American War. It was not applied to telephone bills until 1971. Today, all proceeds go into the general revenue fund.
The percentage has decreased on a steady basis from its original 10% in 1971 to its current level of 3%. The Federal Excise Tax was set to expire in 1982; however, government action that year made it a permanent tax.
Who gets the money?
U.S. Treasury - General Revenue Fund
- Basic local service (not including long distance)
- Vertical services (call forwarding, caller ID, call blocking, etc.)
- Interstate access surcharge
- Universal service fee
- Directory assistance (local)
- Installation charges
- Answering services
- Mobile radio telephone service
- Coin-operated telephones
- Telephone-operated security systems
- News services and radio broadcasts of news and sporting events
- Common carriers and communications companies
- Military personnel serving in combat zones
- International organizations
- Communications serving federal, state, and local government
Also known as:
- Federal Excise (FET)
- Federal excise taxes | <urn:uuid:a5a1fbdf-0d74-4251-abaf-5ef7e559ce99> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.centurylink.com/home/help/billing/overview-of-taxes-and-fees/federal-tax-explained.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00561-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938821 | 298 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Language barriers inhibit the free exchange of information and ideas and restrict travel and mobility. Fast, accurate speech-to-speech translation can overcome language gaps, and allow tourists to communicate easily when traveling in foreign countries or enable healthcare and legal professionals to communicate with others who speak a different language.
Speech-to-speech translation has almost unlimited market potential, especially if translation is as smooth and as natural as speech itself. With this goal, AT&T Research is developing a real-time speech-to-speech translation technology that begins translating as soon as it detects speech, without the latency incurred while waiting for an utterance to complete before translating. The increase in speed is achieved by combining the underlying technologies—automatic speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine learning, speech synthesis—into single step, omitting the usual intermediate step of translating source-language phonemes to target-language text.
This tight coupling is possible because AT&T Research can integrate its own highly accurate and sophisticated automatic speech recognition (AT&T WATSONTM ASR) and natural-sounding text-to-speech (Natural Voices) at a low level so the output of one becomes the input of the next.
Accuracy is ensured at the same time in a number of ways. First, AT&T translation does not rely on a single recognition, but instead looks at all possible recognitions (and the additional information they contain) using other information sources—including contextual knowledge provided from a natural language understanding module—to better decide which recognition is the correct one for the current context.
By not committing early to a single recognition that might be wrong (even if it scored the highest), the AT&T system avoids a common translation problem: the error magnification that occurs when an error at the beginning, such as a wrong recognition, propagates through all subsequent steps: matching the wrong phonemes, translating the wrong words, mis-identifying the context.
Accuracy is also dependent on having a large, complete corpus, and for this the AT&T translation technology depends on statistical methods to extract acoustic, lexical, and translation knowledge from traditional sources—large datasets and existing corpora—as well as nontraditional ones, such as data mining of web pages and their different language versions. This allows the system to be continually and automatically enlarged to cover more domains (health, hotel, entertainment, among others) and keep current with new words and expressions.
For the actual translation, the system encompasses multiple translation methods, automatically choosing the best one for the two languages being translated. Thus the system can take advantage of methods that work very fast to convert between two related languages, such as English and Spanish, as well as methods specifically designed for translating between languages that are syntactically dis-similar, such as English and Japanese.
AT&T translation technology is adapted for both network connections (in the cloud) or on the device. When available from the network, the system automatically identifies the two languages and uses the most appropriate translation method for the language pair. The on-device version relies on installing the appropriate ASR and models.
Multimedia (videos, demos, interviews)
Speech translation for two-way conversations Speech_translation_2way (1k) | <urn:uuid:9edbc942-a445-4228-ae94-ec8fe5a51921> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.research.att.com/projects/Speech_Translation/index.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00561-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916706 | 661 | 3.1875 | 3 |
GIS tool prepped for emergencies
- By Sara Michael
- Jun 17, 2003
ATLANTA — Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are creating a system to allow health officials and first responders to access geographic information to aid in the response to a bioterrorist attack.
The Health Informatics Office is finishing the final phase of the geographic information system (GIS) architecture that will soon bring maps and geospacial data to emergency workers and epidemiologists in the field. The Web-based system, to be completed in early December, will tap into CDC's data bank and analysis tools.
"We must think of our technology as being usable by those who can make the best use of it," Nabil Issa, associate director for the health informatics office in CDC's National Center for Environmental Health. The system would give "nontech-savvy" people a chance to access critical data about time and space in real time, he said.
This final phase is known as the Spatial Epidemiology and Emergency Management (SEEM) system. The system draws on data from the environmental public health spatial data repository at CDC, which includes census data, maps, aerial and satellite photos, and locations of landmarks such as schools and hospitals.
For example, if state and local health officials respond to a chemical spill in a river, the system will immediately display maps of the area, identifying population concentration along the river and schools in the area. First responders can quickly assess the incident and determine the appropriate use of resources.
SEEM is one of three components for retrieving information through the GIS architecture. Another part is the Environmental Public Health Geography Network application, which provides a one-stop portal for spatial data for use by health officials with the appropriate GIS software and knowledge. It enables local and state officials to overlay their information to the data in the GIS architecture without having to give that often sensitive information to CDC. The third part is an Internet GIS application for the publishing of general geographical information.
Issa said about 80 percent of the architecture is in place, and building and organizing the data repository is the project's most complex piece.
Also by December, officials plan to have handheld devices that will transmit data from the field back the GIS data store. First responders in the field would download a questionnaire created during the incident and enter data, relaying information relevant to the particular incident.
"You don't know what data you need until you need it," Issa said. "You need to know the progress and the feedback. That would complete the cycle of the GIS system." | <urn:uuid:0866f4b6-33f3-444f-955f-2f7680b1dfc1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://fcw.com/articles/2003/06/17/gis-tool-prepped-for-emergencies.aspx | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00195-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938353 | 533 | 2.625 | 3 |
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Posted 13 September 2011 - 05:00 PM
Posted 15 September 2011 - 02:30 PM
Video files are not typically thought of as potentially malicious or infected file types, but it is possible for malware to be embedded in or disguised as a video file. Due to this common misconception, audio and video files are incredibly intriguing threat vectors for malware writers.
MP3 files are Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3 files. They are highly compressed audio tracks, and are very popular on the Internet. MP3 files are not programs, and viruses cannot infect them. This file type has the extension MP3.
MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14) files are used to store digital video and audio streams defined by MPEG, but they can also be used to store other data to include subtitles and still images. Almost any type of file can contain viral/malicious code but only executable files can actually activate and spread the malware.
Malware writers have been known to use fake audio files and fake video codecs (as described here) which look legitimate but are actually Trojans in disguise. Some types of malware may even disguise itself by hiding a file extension or by adding double file extensions and/or space(s) in the file's name to hide the real extension as shown here (click Figure 1 to enlarge). If you get a warning prior to playing a file indicating it has a different file extension than what it shows, this likely means the file is not actually an MP3 but disguised as one.
More often attackers tend to use exploits and vulnerabilities found in the Windows operating system and its applications to spread malware.
...a bug in FFMPEG – an open-source library that powers a wide range of media players, video converters and video rippers, can get you infected if you open the wrong file....bug resides in the libavcodec.dll library responsible for encoding, decoding and transcoding files from and to various formats. When a user tries to play a specially-crafted ASF, QuickTime (QT) or Windows Media Video (WMV) file, the local memory gets corrupted, which may allow execution of arbitrary code – a.k.a. “having malware installed on the fly.”...
Media players in personal computers have serious vulnerabilities that could allow online criminals to attach malicious code and infect computers...As a result, audio and video downloads can be turned into digital weapons that hackers could use to hijack or corrupt computers...
Trojan media files are increasingly employed as an infection vector, with attackers exploiting design issues or undocumented features in file formats. Modern media file formats allow for hyperlinks to be embedded inside and are frequently misused as a vehicle for web-centric attacks. Unlike the notorious history associated with executable, Microsoft Office, or PDF files, media files are often perceived as trustworthy by users. And malware authors have been quick to capitalize by using exploit-laden media files to propagate malware.
McAfee reported that it's seen a huge spike in fake MP3 files spreading on peer-to-peer networks. Although the files have names that make them look like audio recordings, they're really Trojan horse programs that try to install a shoddy media player and adware on your computer...
Kaspersky Lab...reports the detection of a malicious program that infects WMA audio files...The worm, which was named Worm.Win32.GetCodec.a, converts mp3 files to the Windows Media Audio (WMA) format (without changing the .mp3 extension) and adds a marker with a link to an infected web page to the converted files.
A bug in Microsoft’s flagship operating system software allows computer attackers to craft MP3 or WMA music files that give them control of listeners’ computers. Simply browsing to a Web page or folder where such an MP3 file is stored would be enough to invoke the malicious code, and allow an attacker to create, modify, or delete data on the victim’s computer...Victims need not be induced to play the infected music file to cause an attack. Because of the way Windows file Explorer reads the attribute information, simply hovering over an infected music file’s icon is enough to cause the buffer overrun. Accessing a folder where the file lives would also invoke the malicious program, as would visiting a Web site where the file is stored.
This trojan, after it gets executed, enumerates all files inside the system looking for those files that have .MP2 .MP3 .WMA .WMV .ASF extensions. If a file with this criteria is found, then the malware checks if it's already infected or not by analyzing its ASF header...trojan alters the header of an .ASF file...by adding a special script that makes Windows Media Player connect to a specific website and download another malware disguised as a fake codec needed to play the multimedia file. If the trojan finds a file with .MP3 or .MP2 extension then it converts them to a .ASF format. After it converted the target multimedia file and left the extension and file name as the original one, the downloader script is added to the header of the .ASF file just created.
The malware has wormlike qualities. Once on a PC, it looks for MP3 or MP2 audio files, transcodes them to Microsoft's Windows Media Audio format, wraps them in an ASF container, and adds links to further copies of the malware, in the guise of a codec...The ".mp3" extension of the files is not modified, however, so victims may not immediately notice the change...
The Trojan basically uses legitimate multimedia functions...to do its dirty work. It preys on the Advanced Systems Format (ASF) file feature in MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) music files as well as Windows Media Video (WMV) files...ASF lets you embed script commands in these file. “The attackers use that to inject their commands into all of your multimedia files...It also converts MP2 and MP3 files into WMA format so it can infect them.
0 members, 3 guests, 0 anonymous users | <urn:uuid:74024864-1119-4979-8584-015adcec795d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/418850/can-flv-or-mp4-be-infected-with-virus/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281226.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00497-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916269 | 1,265 | 3.078125 | 3 |
You might have noticed a different navigation tool on recent BlackBerry® smartphones like the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8520 smartphone and BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 smartphone. Inside BlackBerry wanted to find out how the trackpad worked, so we went and sat down with David (Vice President of Handheld Products) and Derek (Electronics Designer) for a quick lesson.
In the most basic terms you might have heard the trackpad described as an optical mouse. “Think of your standard red-light mouse except your finger is the desk, and you’re moving the desk,” explains Derek. “So the tiny little imperfections of a desk that your mouse picks up on to navigate, it’s now replacing that with your thumb.”
To explain how this navigation process works, David tells me to picture the trackpad as “an infared video camera turned upside down.” Derek agrees and pulls up a screen shot showing a very pixelated grey-scale blob that is actually a finger (see diagram after the jump). He continues, “you have a very low resolution, very fast frame-rate camera: black and white, grey scale.” What the camera sees and registers are the gradations in your finger.
As you move your thumb across the trackpad, a special algorithm happens inside which spits out “you moved left 3 spaces” or as Derek a little more technically put it “it spits out: delta x, delta y.” Or, in diagram form, this is what is happening:
Since the trackpad is really just snapping images and doesn’t require any kind of conductivity like a touchscreen, it means you don’t necessarily have to use your thumb or fingers. You can actually navigate around your screen using anything that has a slightly rough surface. Naturally, David and I put this to the test. We used a note book and a pen, both of which worked fine (not as good as a thumb, but in a pinch it would suffice).
That’s probably enough BlackBerry science for one day. Tune in next week for our history lesson on the trackpad when David explains the evolution of the navigation technology for BlackBerry smartphones. | <urn:uuid:933cb5b1-74f9-4fb8-ad1c-e36b2838fab5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blogs.blackberry.com/2009/12/inside-the-trackpad-a-blackberry-science-lesson/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280280.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00039-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936241 | 457 | 3.171875 | 3 |
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Control Patterns / Defense Mechanisms
by Susan Campbell
Control Patterns I use the term control patterns to refer to the variety of unconscious ego-protective strategies people use when they feel unsafe, that is, when they do not have sufficient self-trust to face the unknown naked and undefended. I think most people feel the need for protection a great deal of the time, and most of what we do and say comes not from a sense of freedom but from a conditioned control pattern. I have identified six types of control patterns:
1. Identifying with your story or script. Eric Berne, author of Games People Play, popularized the notion that significant elements of our childhood stories get played out repeatedly in our adult life because of our scripts. In my family, I was the big sister. This script generated a story line in which I portray myself as competent, knowledgeable, in charge: a mentor and leader. If feelings of fear, dependency, or inadequacy arise, I tend not to notice them. Other people may notice that I seem to be fearful or shaky, but I can sail along through life completely unconscious of these underlying feelings. Different automatic behavior patterns tend to accompany each childhood script. Take a look at your own life story. Were you the smart one or the pretty one? Were you teacher′s pet or a trouble-maker? Did you draw attention to yourself or try to remain invisible?
2. Filtering your perceptions through strongly held beliefs. Also based on early life experiences, your core beliefs act as a filter or set of lenses through which you view the world. The most basic question related to core beliefs is Einstein′s famous phrase, ″Is the Universe friendly?″ Applying this question to your early learning experiences, did you feel welcomed by the world when you were born, or did you have to struggle right from the start? How supportive was your environment? Your answer to these questions tends to shape what you expect from life and what you get. When you act like you can′t handle the unexpected, your ability to do so dwindles. Pause now and ask yourself: On a scale from 1 to 10, how friendly do I feel the universe is toward me? Without thinking, just let a number come to you. When I did this exercise, I gave myself an ″8.″ In the story of my personality, I had parents who were very attentive, loving, validating, and supportive — with one exception: if you were sick, they pretty much expected you to ride it out until you got over it. There were no extra benefits for being incapacitated. As an adult, I rarely get sick. If I do get sick, I don′t expect sympathy or help. I pretty much expect to take care of myself. So I see the universe as basically friendly, but not very sympathetic toward weakness. Like my script, my belief that I′m basically on my own colors how I relate to weakness, dependency, and helplessness in myself and others. I may mistakenly assume that someone is doing fine when they are really crying out for help. My core belief structure creates a blind spot. As you look at your story and compare it to mine, what critical incidents or traumatic events occurred that may have given you the idea that ″it′s not safe to________″ (be sick, be honest, be joyful, express your sexuality, attract attention to yourself, talk back, or assert yourself)? Most core beliefs can be traced back to the need to feel safe.
3. Getting your buttons pushed. When you have a knee-jerk negative reaction to something someone else does or says, this indicates that you have a hypersensitive spot on your ego, metaphorically called a button. Buttons are usually related to a repeated insult suffered in childhood. Thus, if your mother or father continually nagged you to do your homework or chores, you may have a button about being told what to do as an adult. Or if they were very critical and found fault with the things you did, you may have a button about being criticized. Using this example, if you do have a hypersensitivity to others′ criticizing you, you will tend to hear criticism even when it is not the other′s intent. It is important to know what your buttons are, because they help you take your negative reactions less seriously. Most people′s buttons are connected to their ″favorite fear,″ as discussed in chapter 3. The most common favorite fears are the fear of criticism (so you are vigilant for any signs of disapproval or criticism in your environment); the fear of abandonment (so you notice the smallest cues that signal you are about to be left; you may even develop a pattern of abandoning the other first, as soon as you sense that he or she is moving away); the fear of being controlled (so any time anyone tells you to do something, you instinctively resist — even if your mind tries to override this reaction, something in you will drag its heels); the fear of being ignored (so if you don′t get the attention you expect, you go into a characteristic reaction, like overtalking, pouting, or some other way of demanding attention without taking responsibility for what you′re doing); the fear of rejection (so if another won′t give you what you want, you take it personally; you assume his actions are against you; it′s hard to imagine that they could be simply for him). Your favorite fear promotes an unconscious stance that braces you to survive the feared occurrence. Thus braced, you become hypersensitive to cues that the feared event may be about to happen. This control pattern makes it impossible for you to accurately perceive what is.
4. Gesturing automatically. Some people have a patterned way of holding their face, their head, or their body. They may have a pasted-on smile or a pasted-on frown, regardless of their inner feeling, state, or mood. Such gestures are control patterns if they represent your way of trying to remain safe or in control. A perpetual smile, for example, may be saying, ″please like me″ or ″please don′t hurt me.″ A robotic nodding gesture might be your way of giving the impression that you are listening, when in reality you are wrapped up in your own thoughts. Your favorite fear promotes an unconscious stance that braces you to survive the feared occurrence.
5. Speaking in a patterned way. If you have a characteristic way of speaking or using your voice, it may be an unconscious way to avoid some feared outcome or to assure some desired result. A rapid, staccato way of speaking, for example, can signal that you are trying to hurry up and say something before someone interrupts or stops paying attention. Some people who manifest this pattern were not listened to as children. Someone in their early world was impatient or had difficulty paying attention to them. The pacing of your speech and the way you use silences between the words may be your method of making sure that never happens to you again. You have probably known people who preface their comments with self-deprecating remarks like, ″I′m probably being naive, but″ or ″don′t mean to sound arrogant but . . . ″ These remarks can be a way of protecting yourself from others′ criticism by criticizing yourself first. And there are other ways this pattern manifests. Many years ago I had a colleague who was very demanding of attention and had a hard time sharing the stage. His control pattern was to speak very, very slowly. It was as if he was forcing you to pay attention to him while he took his time getting to his point. Listening to him always brought up the image that my feet were nailed to the floor so I couldn′t get away! Oft-repeated phrases can also be control patterns. I know a woman who, whenever she′s talking to her husband about something she wants his agreement on, will end her sentences with, ″don′t you think?″ This phrase signals that he′d better agree with her or he′s in trouble. Some people have a constant inner battle going on between the inner voice that wants to do what it wants and the voice that keeps telling them what they ″should″ be doing.
See List on pg. 63 in “Truth in Dating”
Asking a Question and Then Answering It
Beginning with a Disclaimer
Using manipulative Phrases
Laughing or Giggling
Explaining or Justifying
Saying, “We Need to” or “You Need to”
Embedded Requests (I’ll do this for you and you can do this for me)
6. Replaying the same self-talk over and over. Your state of mind is revealed by what you say as you talk to yourself. Some people have a constant inner battle going on between the inner voice that wants to do what it wants and the voice that keeps telling them what they ″should″ be doing. Some continually replay worries about the future. Others focus much of their mental energy on what other people (for example, their significant other) should be doing as a way of avoiding their own feelings. If you notice a repetitive theme to your self-talk, you are probably caught in a control pattern.
Control Patterns by Susan Campbell in Five-Minute Relationship Repair book
In the list below (pages 6-7), check off any behaviors you recognize in yourself. If you feel particularly courageous, ask your partner which of these behaviors he or she observes in you. An unconscious pattern may be invisible to you, but it can impact your partner and limit trust and intimacy. Most people find a dozen or more behaviors on this list that they recognize in themselves. Use this knowledge to identify how you may be unintentionally triggering reactivity or mistrust in your partner.
❒ Replying too quickly rather than taking in what was said ❒ Obsessing over what you did wrong or might have done wrong ❒ Obsessing about a decision you need to make ❒ Before taking action, reviewing over and over what could go wrong ❒ Taking action or jumping into a situation impulsively, without assessing consequences ❒ Giving gifts or favors in order to win approval or acceptance ❒ Anticipating a partner’s needs as a way to avoid some imagined negative consequence ❒ Trying to “help” or “improve” a situation or person instead of expressing your feelings ❒ Making sacrifices for others, secretly hoping they’ll do the same for you ❒ Asking indirectly for what you want, as in, “Wouldn’t you like to go out for dinner?” ❒ Putting on an act in order to look good or maintain a positive image ❒ Blaming your mood or emotional state on your partner ❒ Justifying, overexplaining, or defending yourself when someone gets upset with you ❒ Reframing things as “for the best” to avoid painful feelings (either your own or another’s) ❒ Retreating into a world of your imagination, fantasizing about “something better” ❒ Lying or withholding information to keep the peace ❒ Thinking “this is not a big deal” (to minimize or ignore an important issue) ❒ Staying silent or saying, “I’m fine,” or “Nothing’s wrong,” when you are displeased ❒ Walking on eggshells to avoid upsetting a partner ❒ When someone brings up a past upset, pushing to move forward and “let go” of the past ❒ Agreeing too quickly before checking in with yourself about your own needs ❒ Telling people what they want to hear, and suppressing your needs or opinions ❒ Making a joke or cute remark in order to laugh off and avoid your real feelings ❒ Assuming you hear criticism from others when someone does not meant to be critical ❒ Suspecting hidden agendas and double messages, or doubting what you hear ❒ Jumping to conclusions about what someone means ❒ Framing a problem or issue in the most pessimistic or negative way ❒ Giving more information or talking more than is asked for or needed ❒ Filling up silences with irrelevant chatter ❒ Overgeneralizing as a conversational habit, talking in platitudes ❒ Instead of staying focused on one issue, elaborating a whole list of issues ❒ Giving advice or making helpful suggestions instead of just listening ❒ Taking a long time to say things, being “thorough,” covering all contingencies ❒ Bringing up the past and going over the same topic repeatedly ❒ Repeating what you’ve already said (when this is not needed) ❒ Telling others what they should do (instead of feeling how their actions affect you) ❒ Obsessing about how things should be or how the other person should be ❒ Lecturing or preaching with a superior tone ❒ Habitually correcting the other person, arguing the point, debating the facts ❒ Labeling, name-calling, or judging the other person (instead of feeling your upset) ❒ Acting angry, forceful, or indignant to get the upper hand ❒ Taking an “it’s my way or the highway” stance ❒ Using self-deprecating preambles, such as, “I’m no expert, but . . .” ❒ Questioning like an interrogator, demanding explanations ❒ Asking a question and then answering it yourself before the other has a chance ❒ Getting sullen or sulking, muttering to yourself ❒ Snickering or laughing to oneself in a judgmental or superior way ❒ Rationalizing, intellectualizing, or using logic to avoid emotions ❒ Protecting yourself from intrusions or demands by avoiding the other person
In the following list of reactive behaviors, put a check next to any that you have employed during a time of distress in your relationship. Reactive behaviors are control patterns of a specific nature.
❒ Try to fix the problem with logic, solve it rationally ❒ Agree insincerely, placate ❒ Rationalize, intellectualize to avoid emotions ❒ Make a joke or cute remark, laugh it off ❒ Ignore, pretend it doesn’t matter or you didn’t hear ❒ Avoid, distance yourself ❒ Leave, walk out, move away ❒ Withdraw, hide out ❒ Act confused, freeze up, space out, shut down ❒ Correct other person, argue the point, debate ❒ Defend yourself ❒ Ridicule, get sarcastic ❒ Make insulting noises or faces, roll your eyes ❒ Talk over the other, interrupt ❒ Repeat yourself ❒ Get sullen or sulk ❒ Mutter to yourself ❒ Compare partner to someone “better” ❒ Label, judge, name-call ❒ Complain ❒ Criticize ❒ Lecture, teach, preach ❒ Pursue, push, pressure, prod, provoke ❒ Talk loudly in an anxious tone ❒ Interrogate, question, ask for explanations ❒ Try to prove you are right ❒ Attack or blame ❒ Yell, blow up ❒ Guilt trip
Childhood Defense Mechanisms
by Ingeborg Bosch
Five childhood defense mechanisms used to avoid bringing childhood unconscious pain into the conscious awareness to be felt are:
1) Fear (anxiety, tension, nervousness) of non-threatening people or situations - "I can still escape from the danger and maybe get what I need", avoiding confrontation, phobias, fear of being alone or in a relationship, speaking, driving, etc. even fear of fear
2) Primary Defense - something is wrong with me, I'm bad, I'm guilty, I'm overwhelmed, It is too much, overwhelmed, severely negative self-evaluations,
3) False Hope - sense of urgency in situations that don't require a sense of urgency in order to please people, satisfying other people's expectations or demands or needs, neglecting our own needs in the process, we are attempting to get something: appreciation, love, acceptance, recognition, etc. from others.If only I was better, If I only was ...I would get my needs met.
4) False Power - Blaming other people, gossiping, anger/irritation, everything is wrong with you, but nothing is wrong with me, judging other people, lot of conflicts with other people.
5) Denial of Needs - lack of emotions, or feeling reactions in general, addictions, numbness, there are no problems or issues when there are, feel less, not hot or cold, numb, not bothered, easy-going, avoids responsibility, avoids intimacy, procrastinates, forgets a lot, watches tv, overeats, overworks, over-indulges, etc. postponing, etc. aloofness, nothing gets to me, don't need anything, life passes you by without you having lived it.sational habit, talking in platitudes ❒ Instead of staying focused on one issue, elaborating a whole list of issues ❒ Giving advice or making helpful suggestions instead of just listening ❒ Taking a long time to say things, being “thorough,” covering all contingencies ❒ Bringing up the past and going over the same topic repeatedly ❒ Repeating what you’ve already said (when this is not needed) ❒ Telling others what they should do (instead of feeling how their actions affect you) ❒ Obsessing about how things should be or how the other person should be ❒ Lecturing or preaching with a superior tone ❒ Habitually correcting the other person, arguing the po | <urn:uuid:db86e4eb-d10e-4de3-8fd8-3452a3b8dbfe> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://docs.com/chuck-koehler/5401/control-patterns-defense-mechanisms | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284405.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00157-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946943 | 3,754 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Routing is the process of maintaining a table of destination network addresses. A router discards packets for unknown networks.
Types of Routes
- When an address and subnet mask is configured on a router’s interface, the router calculates which subnet that interface is on and puts that information in the routing table as a connected route.
- Manually configured by an administrator; each static route must be configured on each router
- No overhead in processing, sending, or receiving updates
- Saves bandwidth and router CPU resources
- Routing table maintained by administrator
- A process that automatically exchanges information about available routes
- Uses metrics to determine the best path to a destination network
- The routing protocol must be configured on each router
- Bandwidth is consumed as routing updates are transmitted between routers
- Router CPU is used to process, send, and receive routing information
- Routing table maintained by routing process
- Can be either static or dynamic
- A router uses the default route if it does not have an explicit route that matches the destination
The administrative distance is a number between 0 and 255 that rates the trustworthiness of the source of the routing information. A lower the number is considered better. The administrative distance is used when a router learns about the same route from different routing sources. Some of the default administrative distances are as follows:
|Route Source||Default Administrative Distance|
|RIP (v1 and v2)||120|
The metric is how a routing protocol measures the “best” path to a destination network. A lower the number is considered better. Some of the routing protocol metrics are as follows:
|EIGRP||Composite metric; defaults to bandwidth and delay so that the fastest, lowest delay path is best.|
|OSPF||Cost; on a Cisco router this is inversely related to bandwidth so that the fastest path is best.|
|RIP (v1 and v2)||Hop count; the path with the least number of hops is best.|
Next week we’ll look at routing protocols.
Excerpted and available for download from Global Knowledge White Paper: CCNA v1.1 Exam Review: Critical Concepts of the 640 – 802 CCNA Exam | <urn:uuid:7d273c9c-1dfd-4631-8c62-72bd3c3d7b56> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.globalknowledge.com/2012/08/03/ccna-v1-1-exam-review-routers/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00369-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.879649 | 464 | 4.21875 | 4 |
In IPv4 we have 32 bits divided into 4 octets. Now, of the 32 bits we need to determine where the network portion is and the host portion is, so there’s two pieces to the 32 bit address two ways of defining that. One way is what’s known as classful, and our classes are A, B, and C. The second way is class-less where we use a subnet mask.
With classful addressing, we use the first octet to tell us if we have a 0 in th first bit, which is the very first bit of the first octet. That means that this would be a class A address. So, the smallest number we could have in a class A address would be all zeroes:
The largest number we could have in this octet would be a zero and a one, then all ones, so an A address in this first octet means it’s between 0 and 127.
64+32+16+8+4+2+1 = 127
Our class B address must have a 1 in this first position and a 0 in the second position, so the smallest number we can have in a class B address is 128:
The largest number, with a 1,0 then all ones, is 191. So a class B has a 1,0 pattern in the very first octet and so that would be between 128 and 191.
Class C address says we have to have a 1,1,0 pattern in the first three bits of our very first octet. So the smallest number would be 1,1,0 and all zeroes; that’s equal to 192:
And then a 1,1,0 then all ones following that, equals 223. So this is our class C range: 192-223:
Classful addressing states that if the first octet is between 0 and 127, it’s a class A and the remaining 3 octets are all host bits. A class B address states that the first octet is between 128 and 191, the first two octets are the network portion, and the last two octets are the host portion. A class C address has between 192 and 223 in the first octet, the first three octets are the network portion, and the last octet is the host portion.
So classfull addressing looks at the first octet to determine the class and the size of the network portion of the address and the host portion of the address.
Guest Blogger: Jill Liles | <urn:uuid:adaf7e5d-60a3-429c-9d4e-be78d1ccb817> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.globalknowledge.com/2012/03/12/subnetting-made-easy-part-2-classful-addressing/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00185-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926758 | 526 | 3.828125 | 4 |
Specific embedded devices are targeted by criminals in order to gain access or utilize for further attacks.
Modems are attacked to change DNS-servers for advertising or infecting systems. This may be done through brute-forcing admin passwords on these devices.
Printers contain passwords which may be stolen through attacks on these systems and used for attacking other network devices (e.g. servers).
The talk by Marco Preuss, Director, Europe, Global Research & Analysis Team, Kaspersky, from PasswordsCon Bergen 2013 focuses on examples of these attacks. Some common attacks may also be utilized for password-testing – dictionary generating. | <urn:uuid:22d1886b-c8cc-427c-9110-3f16b40c0d79> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2013/12/11/tales-of-passwords-cyber-criminals-and-daily-used-devices/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00515-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910917 | 129 | 2.625 | 3 |
A look at how the Web's inventor sees his creation more than two decades after its birth.
We often consider 21 to be a coming-of-age year, and the World Wide Web's impending 21st birthday will be no different.
The Web will officially hit adulthood this coming Christmas, which will mark 21 years since computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee first initiated communications between an HTTP client and a Web server, thus marking the dawn of the so-called "information age" that defined the 1990s. The linking of hypertext with transmission control protocol is now so routine that we forget how revolutionary it really was at the time. Even Berners-Lee, in a question-and-answer session posted on the World Wide Web Consortium in 2008, seemed to downplay his own role in creating such a world-changing technology.
"Lots of hypertext systems had been made which just worked on one computer, and didn't link all the way across the world," he wrote. "I just had to take the hypertext idea and connect it to the TCP and DNS ideas and -- ta-da! -- the World Wide Web... the inventing it was easy. The amazing thing which makes it work is that so many people actually have made web servers, and that they all work the same way, on the Internet. They all use HTTP."
Berners-Lee today maintains that the only way the Web will remain a viable force into the future will be if it maintains that spirit of collaboration and openness that helped it to become so successful more than two decades ago. After all, he notes, his goal in creating the Web was to make something that could be used by everyone and not just an academic, business or government elite.
"I didn't know what would happen [with the Web] but I knew I wanted it to be a universal space," he says. "I knew from the get go that it was very important that it not be relegated to any particular circle."
Because of this, Berners-Lee has been one of the foremost advocates of network neutrality, which is the principle that ISPs should not be allowed to block or degrade Internet traffic from their competitors in order to speed up their own. The push for net neutrality began in 2005, when incumbent telecom carriers successfully lobbied the FCC to repeal common carrier rules that required the incumbents to allow ISPs such as EarthLink to buy space on their broadband networks at discount rates. Because small ISPs are no longer guaranteed access to the big carriers' infrastructure at reasonable rates, Berners-Lee and other net neutrality advocates say net neutrality must be enforced to make sure the big carriers don't exert too much power over how the Web functions.
"This is a question of principle, it's a right to be able to access [the Web] anywhere, and it's a question of keeping the market open," he says. "Whether you happen to be getting it over wired or Wi-Fi or Mi-Fi, it doesn't have any bearing on the principles of free speech and connectivity."
Berners-Lee thinks that Web connectivity ought to be a basic human right that he has recently compared to the right to access water. He points to the role the Web played in the recent overthrow of the Egyptian government as a key reason to view Internet access not merely as a luxury but as a vital component of free speech.
"I listened to [Egyptian opposition leader] Mohamed ElBaradei talk recently and he was asked whether the revolution would have happened without the Web and he said no," Berners-Lee explains. "It worked because a lot of people figured out how to play their cards so they could enact change without violent conflict."
But Berners-Lee says that if ISPs are allowed to play favorites and offer a faster Internet for certain preferred websites over others, it could have a dampening effect on peoples' ability to get accurate information and thus harm democracy itself. In particular he points to the dangers that a non-neutral 'net might have during elections, when so many people rely upon the Web for their news.
"Some people worry that without net neutrality during election time that individual political parties might be able to buy bad connectivity for their opponents," he says. "Imagine that parties will be able to use campaign dollars to prevent the Internet from becoming a neutral space for democracy."
But even though he views access to a neutral Web as vital, he realizes that he and his fellow net neutrality advocates have a lot of work to do in the sphere of public relations. After all, even the watered-down net neutrality regulations passed by the Federal Communications Commission last year are currently in danger of being repealed in Congress.
"Watching a lot of people, they don't understand what net neutrality is," he says. "They say, 'Net neutrality, you're the people who want everything for free,' or 'you're the people who don't want network management.' This sort of thing has been spread about very effectively and, I'd imagine, professionally by those who want to make walled gardens." | <urn:uuid:db23d144-4c48-496f-bdbf-e19d0c309d3b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.networkworld.com/article/2202734/lan-wan/more-than-two-decades-after-inventing-the-web--berners-lee-fights-to-keep-it-open.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00242-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976467 | 1,028 | 2.53125 | 3 |
HOME Environment Management Enviro Management Chemical Management
At Hanwha Techwin, we exercise the utmost vigilance to prevent chemicals stored at our plant from releasing toxic air pollutants into the environment. All storage tanks used for hazardous chemical substances are equipped with an air cleaning unit, and emissions of toxic gases are minimized, using submerged injection methods.
Sulphuric acid, previously used as a pH adjustment agent during oxidation of cyanide-contaminated water, has now been replaced by aluminum sulfate, a substance significantly less harmful to human health. The use of aluminum sulfate has also contributed toward greater stability of our wastewater treatment system.
To improve our response capability to accidents at our indoor chemical substance storage facilities, we set up surveillance cameras, operating around-the-clock, assisting and complementing human surveillance efforts. Our regularly-scheduled drills are conducted with an emergency scenario, so that we may swiftly intervene in case of an accident. | <urn:uuid:5fdd6c3a-5ed9-45bd-b215-9adb59bd50b4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://eco.hanwhatechwin.com/activity/act_chemical.asp | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00150-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918404 | 192 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Software gets much of the hacking spotlight, perhaps understandably so. But the physical infrastructure that runs all that code is just as susceptible to messing with, though it takes a different set of knowledge and techniques. Today's Training trio touch on the more solid side of that divide.
So, the box sits in front of you, its secrets beckoning. Where to start? One great place would be Hands-On Hardware Hacking and Reverse Engineering, a Training which will teach hardware-hacking and reverse-engineering techniques commonly used against electronic products and embedded systems. Topics will include tool tutorials, circuit board analysis and modification, embedded security, and common attack vectors. Pay attention, because at the end you'll have to apply these skills to defeat the security of a custom circuit board.
Next up, odds are fair you've written software before, or at least know the basics. But how about building hardware? That's precisely the goal of Make Your Own Hacker / Pentesting Gadget, in which you'll get down and dirty with off-the-shelf router innards to create a highly useful pentesting gadget. This thing can run pentest tools like Nmap, Metasploit, Aircrack-NG and so on to automate pentest tasks, create rogue devices, backdoor the firmware, and even create a wireless IDS/IPS. A handy thing to have in your pocket, and a great opportunity to smile knowingly when asked, "where'd you get that?"
Finally, Software Exploitation via Hardware Exploits is a hands-on course covering tools and methods for manipulating, modifying, debugging, reverse engineering, interacting with, and exploiting the software and hardware of embedded systems. Unfortunately, this one's sold out. Hope you got in!
Black Hat USA 2015 will occur at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas. It goes down August 1-6, so be sure to register to lock in your attendance. | <urn:uuid:415d8f21-cf68-4aab-bfc8-bd30b7bcdf09> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.blackhat.com/latestintel/06292015-the-hard-stuff.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00150-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932475 | 392 | 2.546875 | 3 |
A Firewall is a system which limits network access between two or more networks. Normally, a Firewall is deployed between a trusted, protected private network and an untrusted public network. For example, the trusted network might be a corporate network, and the public network might be the Internet.
A Firewall might grant or revoke access based on user Authentication,
source and destination network addresses, network protocol, time of
day, network service or any combination of these. It might be
implemented as an Application Level Firewall or a Packet Level Firewall.
It might also implement a Content Filter, such as a Virus Wall. | <urn:uuid:1db0576d-bf4d-4434-8544-2ed74acfc09c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://hitachi-id.com/concepts/firewall.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280774.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00058-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.892232 | 132 | 3.171875 | 3 |
What is Netiquette? Simply stated, it's network etiquette--that is, the etiquette of cyberspace. And "etiquette" means "the forms required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be required in social or official life." In other words, Netiquette is a set of rules for behaving properly online.
When you enter any new culture--and the JDEList has its own culture--you're liable to commit a few social blunders. You might offend people without meaning to. Or you might misunderstand what others say and take offense when it's not intended. To make matters worse, something about cyberspace makes it easy to forget that you're interacting with other real people--not just ASCII characters on a screen, but live human characters.
So, partly as a result of forgetting that people online are still real, and partly because they don't know the conventions, well-meaning cybernauts, especially new ones, make all kinds of mistakes.
This document has a dual purpose: to help JDEList newbies minimize their mistakes, and to help experienced JDEList travelers help the newbies. The premise is that most people would rather make friends than enemies, and that if you follow a few basic rules, you're less likely to make the kind of mistakes that will prevent you from making friends.
The contents of this document were originally copied from the book
"Netiquette_ by Virginia Shea
Albion Books, San Francisco, U.S.A. / firstname.lastname@example.org
After some modifications the below rules are offered here as a set of general guidelines for behavior within the JDELIST
discussion forums. They won't answer all your Netiquette questions. But they should give you some basic principles to use
in solving your own Netiquette dilemmas.
RULE 1: REMEMBER THE HUMAN
Never forget that the person reading your mail or posting is, indeed, a person, with feelings that can be hurt.
Corollary 1: It's not nice to hurt other people's feelings.
Corollary 2: Never mail or post anything you wouldn't say to your reader's face.
Corollary 3: Provide a name or nick name that you may be addressed by. It is difficult to relate to "jdecnc" as opposed to "John".
RULE 2: USE THE SAME STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR ONLINE THAT YOU FOLLOW IN REAL LIFE
Corollary 1: Be ethical.
Corollary 2: Be courteous. If you receive advice that helps you, be sure and thank those who provided the advice.
Corollary 3: Finish the conversation. If you initiated a thread/issue please update it with your final resolution.
RULE 3: ALWAYS PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CONFIGURATION
Identify your platform, OS Version, DB version, OW version, Service Pack level, etc.
Corollary 1: Use Signatures to always default this information at the end of your post.
Corollary 2: Don't assume that everyone out there has the same configuration or environment as you. This is provincial thinking.
Corollary 3: Answers may be version/environment specific, so let everyone know where you are coming from when you post an answer.
RULE 4: RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE'S TIME AND BANDWIDTH
Corollary 1: It's OK to think that what you're doing at the moment is the most important thing in the universe, but don't expect anyone else to agree with you.
Corollary 2: Before you post, search! It is highly probable that your question has been asked and answered before. Use the JDEList web site and search the forums for your issue prior to posting the same question again.
Corollary 3: Post messages to the appropriate forum. If you expect to get help here, post to the right forum. OW Programming questions go to the OneWorld / XE Developers forum. OW Technical questions belong in the One World / XE forum. Application Questions go to the One World / XE and World forum. World Technical questions belong in the World forum.
Corollary 4: Do not post virus warnings, chain letters, jokes, position openings, product advertisements, etc to the list/forum.
Corollary 5: Take private discussions offline rather than sharing with the group.
Corollary 6: Do not post subscribe or unsubscribe requests.
Corollary 7: Stay on topic. Don't start a new thread/issue by responding to a post that is completely unrelated to your issue. Just start a new one instead. This does not apply to threads that mutate - rather to totally unrelated issues.
Corollary 8: If you are on the mailing list, please do not broadcast the fact that you are out of the office to the rest of us. Set your "Out of Office" email to NOT send responses to email from jdelist.com
RULE 5: MAKE YOURSELF LOOK GOOD ONLINE
Corollary 1: Lurk before you leap.
Corollary 2: Know what you're talking about and make sense. When you see yourself writing "it's my understanding that" or "I believe it's the case," ask yourself whether you really want to post this note before checking your facts.
Corollary 3: Check grammar and spelling before you post.
Corollary 4: Make sure your writing is clear and logical. Are you clearly stating the problem or its resolution? Read ALL of your post before you send it. Read it from the viewpoint of the intended audience. It may make sense to you but will it make sense to them?
RULE 6: SHARE EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
Corollary 1: Offer answers and help to people who ask questions on forums.
Corollary 2: If you've received email answers to a posted question, summarize them and post the summary to the forum.
RULE 7: HELP KEEP FLAME WARS UNDER CONTROL
Corollary 1: Do not post flame-bait.
Corollary 2: Don't respond to flame-bait.
Corollary 3: Don't post spelling or grammar flames.
Corollary 4: If you've posted flame-bait or perpetuated a flame war, apologize.
RULE 8: RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE'S PRIVACY
Corollary 1: Do not give out names/addresses of individuals on the list to recruiters and the like.
Corollary 2: Do NOT privately email questions or replies to an individual that can be addressed or read by the group. The purpose of the List/Forum is to share knowledge! Its OK to be a "newbie" here. It is not OK to bombard individuals with private emails.
RULE 9: ENGLISH IS THE "OFFICAL" LANGUAGE OF THESE FORUMS
The participants in these discussion forums come from a wide variety of countries and ethnic backgrounds. Because of this it is essential that a common language be used to accomplish the goal of "Shared Knowledge".
Corollary 1: Respect the fact that English is not the native language of all participants and excuse grammar, spelling, or vocabulary errors due to this.
Corollary 2: Avoid "colloquialisms" (informal english and slang) and big words (like "colloquialism") that are not part of "Basic English". Instead phrase your post as simply as possible. This will encourage and enable others to take part in, or benefit from, the conversation.
Corollary 3: Do not use abbreviations like BTW, IMHO, w/in, FWIW, etc. These are very difficult for non-English speakers. This rule does not apply to the JDE abbreviations such as APPL, UBE, BSFN, etc.
RULE 10: BE FORGIVING OF OTHER PEOPLE'S MISTAKES
Corollary 1: You were a newbie once too!
Corollary 2: There are no stupid questions here.
This Netiquette was compile by Larry Jones, Larry's contribution to the forum is really appreciated. | <urn:uuid:66958cfc-642b-4b50-aebb-cb7b6b9835ed> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.jdelist.com/vb4/faq.php?s=423c90e0b896578aadd9fd38afbe042c&faq=vb3_board_faq | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00360-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908428 | 1,715 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Mirabel M.,French Institute of Health and Medical Research |
Mirabel M.,University of Paris Descartes |
Ferreira B.,Institute du Coeur ICOR |
Sidi D.,University of Paris Descartes |
And 8 more authors.
Medecine/Sciences | Year: 2012
Acute rheumatic fever develops after an inadequate immune response to throat streptococcal infection that induces the production of antibodies reacting against cardiac endothelial cells. Valve damage may lead to irreversible cardiac valve sequela (rheumatic heart disease) with further evolution towards severe valve dysfunction and heart failure. The disease has been almost eradicated in Western countries with the development of living conditions and prevention policies, including primary prevention (treatment of sore throats) and secondary prevention (long term administration of antibiotics). However, rheumatic heart disease remains a major health problem in developing countries. Recently, echocardiography identified children with mild features of the disease, thereby allowing early treatment. Source | <urn:uuid:bcee2922-d282-4d8a-88fe-2014351c9293> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.linknovate.com/affiliation/institute-du-coeur-icor-414213/all/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00360-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.891809 | 206 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Over the years, governments have tried any number of procurement models -- from lowest cost, to best value, to strategic sourcing and more – in an attempt to find the least expensive, most effective way to do business. Because public money is being spent, government has integrated a long list of checks and balances into the process, many of which slow procurement so much that the technology may be outdated by the time the contract is signed.
In addition to the slow pace of procurement, the complex rules and liability guidelines may scare off innovative companies, according to former Oregon CIO and Procurement Director Dugan Petty.
More recently, some jurisdictions have been experimenting with something called “pay for success” or “social impact bonds.” In that model, the vendor must meet results-based goals in order to receive payment. No results = no pay.
The first social impact bond in the United States began about two years ago as a program to reduce recidivism of 16- to 18-year-olds in New York City’s Riker’s Island Jail. Under terms of the contract, interventions carried out by the contractor were intended to reduce recidivism, and if they were successful, the contractor would receive payment from money saved by recidivism reduction. No reduction, no pay.
One catch with this type of agreement? It takes even longer than traditional contracting. In fact, it may take years to prove success, and few providers can wait that long to get paid. Improving health-care outcomes, for example, might take a decade or more to substantiate, and so the provider must procure funding, usually from a bank or third party, in the form of a social impact bond.
According to Government Executive, pay for success is not foreign to the public-sector, since highways, power plants, low-income housing and infrastructure projects are often structured that way.
The Nonprofit Finance Fund, financed by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, has more information on pay for success contracting in government. Though primary examples are in social services, using such a model for large IT projects could prove highly beneficial for the public sector. | <urn:uuid:864f6c7e-ebb2-4f51-8486-0beb60852af7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.govtech.com/state/Considering-Pay-for-Success-Procurement.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00480-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967465 | 440 | 2.5625 | 3 |
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Embed code for: Technology and Early Childhood Education individual essay- wong ka sin
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Caritas Institute of Community Education
Higher Diploma in Early Childhood Education
Technology and Early Childhood Education
Student Name : WONG, ka-sin
Student Number : 10125325
Tutor : Ms.Pei
Recent ten years, technology develop in a high speed, that the technology products assimilate into people's daily life, for example in 2014, nearly 5 million people aged 10 and over have smartphones, it show the penetration of the smartphone are rise rapidly. Although the technology are convenience for people’s life, face to the rise rapidly, technology may be bring some disadvantages. Then, technology is a part of ICT. ICT mean the information and communications technology.
The pros and cons of using ICT in Early Childhood Education
In the following paragraphs, I would introduce the benefits and the potential risks of using ICT in Early Childhood Education.
First, I would like to discuss the benefits of children contact with ICT, according to a website desri ICT can support different aspects of learning and development processes of young children, including language, creativity and problem-solving skills. ( mami umayahara, 2014) Take it as an reference, it mean children through to the ICT activities can be develop their literacy, creativity and problem-solving skills. Children can also play and learn together by using ICT, which can foster their ability to communicate and collaborate. It show children can develop the teamwork skills through to the ICT activities.
On the other hand, I would like to describe the potential risks of ICT in Early Childhood Education, the first point is physical and ergonomic safety risks due to prolonged usage or repetitive motions, such as musculoskeletal injuries, visual strain and myopia, obesity and other complications of a sedentary lifestyle, and possible risks of radiation exposure. The second point, the information of ICT may exposure to harmful contents, such as violence and sexual content in the commercial and advertising. The last point is about the invasion to children’s privacy, that children may give their personal information to others.
Suggestion on using ICT to support learning and teaching process in teaching children technology
In this paragraph, I would like to design a activity by using ICT in Early Childhood Education. The activity called the My favourite plant or animal in Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. The activity is designed to using an ICT tool, digital camera.
Digital camera for kids
And activity would be separate to two parts, the first part is teaching the skill of using digital camera, such as which button is camera shutter and the second part is the child with a camera in the teacher’s leadership, visit the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens and use the camera to record their favorite plants and animals. Also, I would like to organize a share time that all children record a photo and introduce the reason that why who choose.
Children using the digital camera to record
Justification on the rationale of using ICT for supporting young children’s learning experience
In the paragraph, I would like to analyze the benefits and disadvantages of the designed activity.
Firstly, there are three benefits in the designed activity. Children can record the favorite plant or animal in a convenience way. Through to the photo, children can avoid their drawing and painting skills in poor performance. It can help others to understand the children want to do or thinking. And they can organize a clear explanation by using digital camera. This benefit is more obviously form in children with special needs.
The other benefit is beneficial to parents and others, according to a website show the ital camera in ECE“ It creates a meaningful and productive past-time for their kids, which may be considered as an after-school activity” (Steve's digicams, 2016) Take it as an reference, it can provide the chance to children build up a habit about photography. In this benefit can scrutiny to using digital cameras in the classroom can help students to learn photography skills, which they can use at home or at their jobs that based on the website. (Laura latzko, 2015)
The last benefit is the of the digital camera, compare with the drawing the plant or animal on the paper. Using the digital camera can be more easily to stored properly, it avoid the chance of depreciation on the paper. Also, it is prepare for future extension activity.
Furthermore, I would move on to the disadvantages in designed activity. There are two disadvantages. First one is about the activity lack of the space to develop the ability in creativity. Although use the digital camera that children have a more clear to their presentation, activity to reduce the children to create and play their own space. Also, the opportunity of training the fine motor skills when children hold a pencil for drawing. Activity without much use of children to solve the problem. When use digital camera in the designed activity, children only need to consider the plant or animal who like the most. But it miss the process of observe the details of the favorite plant or animal through to drawing.
On the other point, this disadvantage is the point of view ny the school. In Hong Kong, are not pay attention of using the digital camera in the lesson. Schools may need to handle the burden of the cost, if schools want to buy the digital camera. Also, some teacher may lack of knowledge about photography skills that schools need to the burden of training costs.
Reflection on the role and potential of using ICT in Early Childhood Education
The last but not least, I would like to organize the reflection on the role and potential of using ICT. The above paragraphs show the pros and cons between using ICT, digital camera in ECE. In my views, the lesson involve to use ICT that will be part of designed activities, especially the development of ICT in the high rapidity. Also, ICT are support to build up the relationship between schools, caregivers and children. According to the views of the internet,” ICT can be a useful tool for supporting young children’s learning and development.” and “ICT use can provide a context for collaboration, co-operation, and positive learning experiences between children, or between children and adults.” (Mr otucu bonny, 2013)
The following paragraph, I would take the affect the health of young children with using ICT to refute, ICT is considered to harmful physical effects, resulting in eye health problems. But, in my view, I think it may solve by some apps. Those kind of apps can help parent to set a timer to control their child on using ICT, and even in long distance remote control of children’s technology products.
In conclusion, while ICT has both benefits and disadvantages, it does solve through the wise choice and formulation of norms, such as the timetable with using ICT.
mami umayahara. (2014). ICT in Education UNESCO Bangkok. Retrieved 24 November, 2016, from http://www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/online-resources/databases/ict-in-education-database/item/article/benefits-and-risks-of-ict-use-in-early-childhood/
Laura latzko. (2015). Advantages & Disadvantages of Using a Digital Camera in the Classroom. Retrieved 25 November, 2016, from http://www.ehow.com/info_8700264_advantages-using-digital-camera-classroom.html
Steve's digicams. (2016). 3 Benefits of Digital Photography for Kids. Retrieved 25 November, 2016, from
Mr otucu bonny. (2013). Why ICT is important in Early Childhood Development and Education today. Retrieved 25 November, 2016, from https://langosamaritan.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/why-ict-is-important-in-early-childhood-development-and-education-today/n this benefit can scrutiny to using digital cam | <urn:uuid:51ca7fa2-4ab8-4a4e-ab0c-7242203d38de> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://docs.com/kasinwong/4277/technology-and-early-childhood-education | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00480-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939346 | 1,745 | 2.671875 | 3 |
There are at least two different meanings for IOPs, which for those not familiar with the information technology (IT) and data storage meaning is Input/output Operations Per second (e.g. data movement activity). Another meaning for IOP that is the international organization for a participatory society (iopsociety.org), and their fundraising activity found here.
I recently came across a piece (here and here) talking about RAID and IOPs that had some interesting points; however, some generalizations could use some more comments. One of the interesting comments and assertions is that RAID writes increase with the number of drives in the parity scheme. Granted the specific implementation and configuration could result in an it depends type response.
Keep in mind that such as with RAID 5 (or 6) performance, your IO size will have a bearing on if you are doing those extra back-end IOs. For example if you are writing a 32KB item that is accomplished by a single front-end IO from an applications server, and your storage system, appliance, adapter, software implementing and performing the RAID (or erasure coding for that matter) has a chunk size of say 8KB (e.g. the amount of data written to each back-end drive). Then a 5 drive R5 (e.g. 4+1) would in fact have five back-end IOPS (32KB / 8KB = 4 + 1 (8KB Parity)).
Otoh of the front end IOP were only 16KB (using whole numbers for simplicity, otherwise round-up), in the case of a write, there would be three back-end writes with the R5 (e.g. 2 + 1). Keep in mind the controller/software managing the RAID would (or should) try to schedule back-end IO with cache, read-head, write-behind, write-back, other forms of optimization etc.
In the piece (here and here), a good point is the understanding and factoring in IOPS is important, as is also latency or response time in addition to bandwidth or throughput, along with availability, they are all inter-related.
Also very important is to keep in mind the size of the IOP, read and write, random, sequential etc.
RAID along with erasure coding is a balancing act between performance, availability, space capacity and economics aligned to different application needs.
RAID 0 (R0) actually has a big impact on performance, no penalty on writes; however, it has no availability protection benefit and in fact can be a single point of failure (e.g. loss of a HDD or SSD) impacts the entire R0 group. However, for static items, or items that are being journaled and protected on some other medium/RAID/protection scheme, R0 is used more than people realize for scratch/buffer/transient/read cache types of applications. Keep in mind that it is a balance of all performance and capacity with the exposure of no availability as opposed to other approaches. Thus, do not be scared of R0, however also do not get burned or hurt with it either, treat it with respect and can be effective for something's.
Keep in mind that unless you are using a PCIe nand flash SSD card as a target or cache or RAID card, most SSD drives today are either SAS or SATA (being the more common) along with moving from 3Gb SAS or SATA to 6Gb SAS & SATA.
Also while HDD and SSDs can do a given number of reads or writes per second, those will vary based on the size of the IO, read, write, random, sequential. However what can have the biggest impact and where I have seen too many people or environments get into a performance jam is when assuming that those IOP numbers per HDD or SSD are a given. For example assuming that 100-140, IOPs (regardless of size, type, etc.) can be achieved as a limiting factor is the type of interface and controller/adapter being used.
I have seen fast HDDs and SSDs deliver sub-par performance or not meeting expectations fast interfaces such as iSCSI/SAS/SATA/FC/FCoE/IBA or other interfaces due to bottlenecks in the adapter card, storage system / appliance / controller / software. In some cases you may see more effective IOPs or reads, writes or both, while on other implementations you may see lower than expected due to internal implementation bottlenecks or architectural designs. Hint, watch out for solutions where the vendor tries to blame poor performance on the access network (e.g. SAS, iSCSI, FC, etc.) particular if you know that those are not bottlenecks.
Here are some related content:
Are Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) getting too big?
How can direct attached storage (DAS) make a comeback if it never left?
EMC VFCache re spinning SSD and intelligent caching
SSD and Green IT moving beyond green washing
Optimize Data Storage for Performance and Capacity Efficiency
Is SSD dead? No, however some vendors might be
RAID Relevance Revisited
Industry Trends and Perspectives: RAID Rebuild Rates
What is the best kind of IO? The one you do not have to do
More storage and IO metrics that matter
IBM buys flash solid state device (SSD) industry veteran TMS
In terms of fund-raising, if you feel so compelled, send a gift, donation, sponsorship, project, buy some books, piece of work, assignment, research project, speaking, keynote, web cast, video or seminar event my way and just like professional fund-raisers, or IOPS vendors, StorageIO accept visa, Master Card, American express, Pay Pal, check and traditional POs.
As for this site and comments, outside of those caught in the spam trap, courteous perspectives and discussions are welcome.
Ok, nuff said. | <urn:uuid:cc2eee38-5f8b-4d57-a025-e86c1a44b6fc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.datacenterjournal.com/raid-and-iops-and-io-observations/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00416-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92773 | 1,246 | 2.828125 | 3 |
The United Nations estimates that in 2009, the world’s population was officially evenly split between rural and urban areas. However, this figure is not a static one—the organization contends that by 2050, almost 70 percent of the projected 9.1 people living on the planet will be living in cities.
Leaving aside the multiple matters tied to population growth in general, if the urban migration figures are correct, cities are going to have to find far more sustainable ways to power their cities—a matter that can be addressed by streamlining, and in some cases reconstructing, IT infrastructure.
A recent report by Microsoft, called “The Central Role of Cloud Computing in Making Cities Energy-Smart” examined the pending urban population push with a focus on refining city energy infrastructure. The authors claim that in order for cities to thrive in the wake of population explosions, they will “need to radically evolve their infrastructures.” This includes water, waste and other crucial systems, but as the report notes, it is “the evolution of energy infrastructure, in particular, that presents an important opportunity to make major reductions in GHG emissions, support economic development and maintain high quality of life in our cities.”
While at one time energy might have only meant power stations and the way electricity was served, the tide is changing. Now, instead of buildings (and a growing range of other structures and devices) being simply consumers of electricity, they are also producing it and sending it back to the grid.
This give and take relationship in the energy grid goes beyond buildings sending energy as well as consuming it. Newer modes of power generation and consumption like electric vehicles which consume power but also use their battery stores to send power back to the grid are on the horizon as are a number of other renewable systems to send and receive energy.
The problem now is to architect a system that takes these logistical problems of the smart grid and manages the complexity efficiently and in a manner that actually enhances power generation and dispersal. In other words, the time has come to turn those massive, power-chugging cloud data centers into the sources of more streamlined, efficient energy use and distribution—forcing them into their own sort of “give and take” relationship.
Maximizing the Power of Smart Grids
Today IBM and British Cable and Wireless announced that they were collaborating on a cloud computing system to monitor the use of power in over 50 million homes via their smart meters. The project, called the “UK Smart Energy Cloud” will “gather data many times a day from smart meters around the country and store it in a cloud hosted within the country. This data then will be sent to power utilities for analysis to aid in better planning for peak loads.
Smart meters have emerged to let utility companies will be more proficient in gauging demand, thus allowing them to plan ahead to prevent outages. While there are other potential benefits for smart meters, including the ability for customers to see when their electricity is cheapest, the goal to maximize energy use is paramount—both for consumers and power companies.
For true revolutionizing of energy infrastructure, however, it will take a great deal more IT horsepower since smart metering alone cannot provide the efficiency required for the big urban boom. A more integrated approach using information accessible anywhere via cloud-based platforms is needed. This is especially important because the nature of power operations is changing with far more “give back” via wind and other generation mechanisms that allow consumers to shift to providers.
There is no easy task in this mission to build sustainable IT infrastructures, according to Chris Johnston from the Network-Ready device unit at AT&T. He states that “Ultimately, the grid may be transformed into a wirelessly-controlled, digital network capable of handling complex, multi-directional flows of power. Communications and computing must be both cost effective and easy to install. These criteria greatly favor wireless communications and cloud computing. Companies capable of delivering the necessary wireless communications and cloud computing functionality must also be armed with outstanding service level agreements and disaster recovery capabilities.”
The Microsoft report also gave a hat tip to this complexity, noting that “the coordination of all of those supply sources is complex and requires significant understanding of where, when and how much power is available to satisfy the energy demands of growing cities. This is of course why the integration of sensors, monitoring equipment, advanced control systems and information technologies to collect this supply-side data and turn it into useful, actionable information is important.”
A Data Market for Energy Efficiency
As more renewable energy sources become more pervasive, bringing with them a need to interact with the grid (versus simply be a consumer of its resources) there will need to be a way to merge these elements into the infrastructure. As the Microsoft report on this issue noted, “optimizing energy efficiency across these interconnected systems at the city level requires the secure and reliable collection of massive amounts of data from sensors, meters and controls embedded within these complex systems.
In Microsoft’s view, cloud computing could be the key to providing a flexible platform to bring together these disparate sensors, meters and measurements so that energy efficiency can be streamlined into one system. They note that “developers will be able to deliver new solutions, such as weather forecasts, energy pricing and traffic conditions.” Along with this is other data that can be particularly useful when culled into the big picture cloud platform. This could include building occupancy, energy performance, manufacturing and other activity and even shipping or distribution schedules.
To help developers focused on building smarter city infrastructures, Microsoft has opened its Windows Azure DataMarket, which the company claims will enable “the discovery, exploration and consumption of data from trusted public domains and commercial data sources such as demographics, health, location-based services, real estate, science, transportation, navigation, weather, finance, etc.” This market for data also provides visualizations and analytics to help developers “see” the data and its wider implications.
In essence, by providing a complex “mashup” of this data, developers will be to create total systems that are integrated for energy efficiency by use of the vast amount of data pertaining to urban elements that might, at first anyway, appear to have little to do with the grid. In short, “applications and services that leverage such a diverse portfolio of disparate data sets will enable new insights for citizens, governments and utilities on how to manage energy infrastructure in real time.”
The company notes that developers can make use of this data on any platform and can incorporate the data via a common API to mobile, desktop and web-based applications. This centralization of information for energy efficient planning (and beyond, the commercial applications are limited only by imagination—and will likely be the primary use) will allow developers unprecedented ease in terms of creating specific local mashups to aid in effective energy use and distribution.
The report out of Redmond, “IT for Energy Smart Cities” notes that this movement to cull data from a range of source to aid in more efficient energy distribution and use is already taking shape. It notes that ISVs are system integrators are already “taking advantage of high performance and cloud computing platforms to deliver solutions and services that address the needs of this evolving energy infrastructure.” According to Microsoft, many of these ISVs and Sis are already players in the power and grid space and are pulling together pieces of information related to everything from building design and management to transportation systems.
Microsoft claims that the “work to evolve energy smart cities is focusing on these major intersecting infrastructures—power generation and grid, buildings, transportation systems and the security, privacy, reliability and accessibility of the general information backbone that connects them.”
Bringing it all Together
Chris Johnston’s assessment that there are big challenges ahead on a number of fronts shouldn’t be taken lightly. Before the merging of disparate technologies and sources of energy production and consumption some core refinements and modernization measures are needed.
Some groups are addressing such challenges, including a team of researchers out of the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. The group recently announced that they have embarked on a long-term mission to integrate more efficient power delivery systems into the expanding American power grid. As a release this week noted, “by employing the same simulation technology used to design and engineer electricity grids, the researchers will model an expanded power grid that delivers electricity from the power plant to our homes and businesses with less infrastructure and a more reliable and efficient flow of electricity.”
This attempt to reconstruct infrastructure would allow for better conservation and also will make it simpler to look to more renewable sources of energy that are generated in remote locations. As one of the lead researchers for the project, Gregory Reed, noted the issue with power delivery in the U.S. is related to consistency. He explains:
“Electricity in the United States is generated, transported and delivered by alternating current (AC). But modern devices—from renewable power resources and electric vehicles to high-definition televisions, data center, computers and other devices take a direct current (DC) input, hence the AC/DC converters.” In short, systems that were once adequate are now strained due to a lack of IT infrastructure to support added complexity.
Others are looking at the roles that smart meters can play within paradoxical issue of cloud computing data centers themselves. In other words, they are examining how data centers that provide the cloud power to create better efficiency can themselves become more central to overall local efficiency.
The cloud can provide a robust, scalable system to manage fluctuating demand and input/output of information as well as serve as a springboard for creative teams of developers. However, it’s a long road ahead. In the meantime, the urban migration continues to build, making the work to support energy efficiency via cloud computing (and other IT innovations) an urgent matter. | <urn:uuid:854c9791-0461-4b24-886b-31b9c4ed9baf> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.hpcwire.com/2011/03/21/clouds_set_to_make_smart_grids_smarter/ | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283475.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00048-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941587 | 2,050 | 3.40625 | 3 |
There are many different types of components used for communication. All these components fall under two categories, fiber optic active components and fiber optic passive components. The fiber passive components which require no input power to function include but are not limited to such devices as fiber optic connectors and fiber optic splicers, two simple components that join two pieces of fiber. While active device is any type of circuit component with the ability to electricity controlling electricity. The development of optical communication requires higher rate, larger capacity devices, but lower cost , which rely on photonic integrated circuit (PIC).
Main optical devices:
Optical passive and active optical devices are indispensable. Optical access network and the development of all-optical network, resulting in the development of optical passive devices unprecedented popular. Routine commonly used devices have reached a certain scale of the industry. The variety and the performance have been greatly expanded and improved. The so-called optical passive means light energy consumption of the device, its wide range of different functions in optical communication systems and optical networks. The main role is: to connect the optical waveguide or optical path; to control the direction of light propagation; to control the optical power distribution; between the control waveguide and devices, optical coupling and co-wave partial wave; the top and bottom of the optical channel and cross-connect.
Optics has been behind various enabling technologies to cope with the ever-increasing bandwidth demands at internet backbone level. Dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) allows concurrent transmissions of many channels of wide bandwidth data through a single fiber. The success of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA) pushes the data regeneration distance longer and longer. The emerging massively parallel optical switches are revolutionizing all-optical communication networks. We are witnessing an era of renaissance of optics due to the communication infrastructure upgrade frenzy. High speed optics, once so prohibitively expensive that only long-haul communication was feasible, are being applied to ever-shorter distances, penetrating from metro-area to access and intra-computer interconnect networks. Bulk free-space optics is being miniaturized and integrated to serve critical missions to keep the pace of bandwidth booms. At the same time, the pace of developing wider bandwidth and more cost-effective solutions to sustain the explosive growth of bandwidth presents huge challenges and opportunities for optical scientists and engineers.
The rapid growth of WDM systems has attracted a great deal of attention. Fiberstore supplies a full suite of passive optical devices based on its proven technology in optical fiber and PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuit) design and manufacture. We offer optical splitters (fused fiber & PLC splitters) as well as a variety of additional products. | <urn:uuid:8941373c-0dda-4bce-95e0-b783da6b9570> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.fs.com/blog/an-overview-of-active-and-passive-components.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00444-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9173 | 556 | 3.546875 | 4 |
A better way for supercomputers to search large data sets
- By Kevin McCaney
- Sep 09, 2013
Scientists are getting better all the time at collecting data, pulling vast amounts of it from expanding networks of sensors, satellite feeds, supercomputers and other devices. The trick is poring over that data and finding useful information, and even with the big data analysis tools at hand, that’s not an easy task.
But researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab may have just made the job easier.
A team at the Energy Department lab has developed new techniques for analyzing huge data sets, by using an approach called “distributed merge trees” that takes better advantage of supercomputing’s massively parallel architectures, according to a report from the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center.
With supercomputing being applied to everything from genomics to climate research, data sets are getting more complex as well as increasingly large, often running into the petabyte range. Their complexity often puts them beyond the range of standard methods of creating a topology, which has led scientists to apply massively parallel supercomputing techniques during analysis.
But even supercomputers can run up against their limits. “The growth of serial computational power has stalled, so data analysis is becoming increasingly dependent on massively parallel machines,” Gunther Weber, a computational researcher in Berkeley Lab’s Visualization Group, said in the report. “To satisfy the computational demand created by complex data sets, algorithms need to effectively use these parallel computer architectures.”
And that’s where the distributed merge tree algorithms come in. They’re capable of scanning a huge data set, tagging the values a researcher is looking for and creating a topological map of the data, the way a pocket map of the London subway cleanly depicts what is a vast labyrinth of tracks, tunnels and stations.
Distributed merge trees essentially divide and conquer the large topological data sets, separate the data sets into blocks and leverage a supercomputer’s massively parallel architecture to distribute the work across its thousands of nodes, Weber said. In the process, it separates important data from the “noise,” or irrelevant data, inherent in any large data set, the researchers said.
An example would be a topological map of the fuel consumption values within a flame, said Dimiti Morozov, who co-authored a paper on distributed merge trees with Weber. The algorithm would “allow scientists to quickly pick out the burning and non-burning regions from an ocean of ‘noisy’ data,” he said.
Ultimately, distributed merge trees will let scientists get more out of the future supercomputers. “This is also an important step in making topological analysis available on massively parallel, distributed memory architectures," Weber said.
Kevin McCaney is a former editor of Defense Systems and GCN. | <urn:uuid:6ecbb354-711e-4c1f-bc25-6a0304f8e92a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://gcn.com/articles/2013/09/09/berkeley-lab-big-data-topology.aspx | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00168-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923739 | 597 | 3 | 3 |
Protecting Yourself from Email “Web Bugs”
Web Bugs are images in HTML-formatted email messages that, when viewed, tell the sender of the message that you read the message. This mechanism of obtaining an essentially covert confirmation that (a) your email address is valid, (b) the email got past your filters, and (c) you actually read the message, is pervasively used by Spammers to identify what addresses are reading their messages.
Why do spammers use Web Bugs?
Spammers send out to hundreds of thousands or millions of different email addresses in the hope that some small percentage of the recipients are “taken in” by whatever scheme they are using. Using Web Bugs, Spammers can prune their lists down to the small fraction of people reading their email and target those people with many more spam messages of different kinds. I.e. if you read a Spam message and are identified as a “good recipient” by a Web Bug, then your email address just became a spam magnet! This is bad for you but good for the Spammers — as a larger percentage of messages that they send make it to viable recipients.
How to Tell if Someone Read Your Email Message?
In general, there are very few ways to know if someone has read an email message that you sent to them. The possibilities include:
- Read Receipts: You add a “read receipt request”. If the recipient is using an email client that supports read receipts and the recipient decides to allow the receipt to be sent when the message is opened, then you get an emailed notification back when the recipient has read the message. Use of read receipts is very unreliable; while most email clients support them, most people have them turned off or they routinely decline to have the receipts sent back to the sender (I know I do!)
- Message Pickup: In systems where you have to go to a web site to access your message content, like with SecureLine Escrow, the sender always knows if and when you have picked up the message.
- Download Tracking: If the email message contains a link to some object (such as an image or file) on a web server somewhere and you download that object, then a record is made of that download in the web server’s logs. If that link contains information identifying you and the message, then the sender can look at the logs and determine:
- That you read the message
- When you read the message
- The IP address of the computer you used when reading the message
- Possibly more things
How Do Web Bugs Work?
Web Bugs use the Download Tracking mechanism. The email sent contains HTML-formatted content. When you view the HTML, images are downloaded from external web servers as part of the message content. One or more of these images will contain tracking information identifying to whom the message was sent and which message was sent.
The tracking image(s) are typically small or inconspicuous. It could be a 1×1 pixel transparent image, or anything else.
In order to be effective, Web Bugs require:
- You to read the message
- Your email program to be displaying HTML-formatted message parts
- Your email program to be downloading and displaying any images in such message parts.
Many email programs, like Outlook, do all of this automatically. Some programs, like Mozilla Thunderbird, now-a-days ask you before downloading and displaying images in messages to help protect you against these bugs.
How to Protect Yourself Against Web Bugs
There are many things you can do to protect yourself from Web Bugs. By “protect yourself,” I mean that you should be able to read messages without Spammers knowing that you are doing so — and it should not be difficult!
- Filtering: The best way to protect yourself is to use server-side email filtering that auto-detects and auto-removes any Web Bugs in email messages, while leaving the rest of the images in the messages intact. LuxSci’s Premium Email Filtering can do this (though you have to enable this setting in your filtering policies as it is not on by default).
- A Good Email Program: Use a good email program, like Mozilla Thunderbird, which will hide images in messages until you ask for them or “allow list” the sender. Using a “old style” plain-text-only email program will also work!
- A Good WebMail Program: Using a good WebMail program, like LuxSci’s WebMail, can help too. LuxSci’s WebMail allows:
- Previewing the message content in plain text before opening the message (no chance of triggering a WebBug or any other email threat when previewing a message in plain text)
- Display of the HTML content of messages if off by default and can be toggled on and off as needed (with a hot key or menu option). You can thus view the entire message content and attachments without needing to display the HTML and expose yourself to WebBugs or other HTML-based threats.
- Display of images in HTML is off by default and can be toggled on and off as needed (with a hot key or menu option). I.e. you can view the full HTML and merely have all of the images blanked out — no chance of triggering a WebBug in this case either.
If you are caught by WebBugs and get on the “spam me” lists, you may find yourself the target of increasing amounts of spam — even spam appearing to come from yourself or backscatter spam where your address was used to send spam to others. If this is the case, you will either need to get some really good filtering, or change your email address. | <urn:uuid:5b753396-c522-44d1-9e20-16e4604e0005> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://luxsci.com/blog/protecting-yourself-from-web-bugs-in-your-email.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281202.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00076-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912005 | 1,205 | 2.609375 | 3 |
As federal and state regulations on the water quality of our lakes and rivers become stricter, agencies responsible for water quality must find ways to fund meeting the new requirements. While National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements for managing storm water pollution are still being phased in, some states are trying to impose even more stringent regulations.
To cover the costs associated with the NPDES -- which requires that municipalities implement management practices to mitigate pollution in urban runoff -- many cities started billing residents based on the amount of impervious surface area on their property, which affects their contribution to runoff since water can't soak into the ground.
The city and county of Denver is way ahead of the game.
Denver is hit with intense rainstorms in the summer, causing surges in runoff into the storm water system, said Jeff Blossom, GIS photogrammetry administrator for the Denver Wastewater Management Division (WMD). He said ongoing construction and maintenance of the storm water system are required to prevent flooding and protect public health.
In 1980, Denver passed an ordinance allowing the WMD to bill residents to cover the costs of building and maintaining infrastructure that controls the flow of rain and melting snow, which is disrupted when land is developed.
Though storm water billing brings in needed funds, Blossom said billing by impervious surfaces is often laborious.
"If you're going to map every property down to every 10 square feet -- every sidewalk, every patio, etc. -- you have to have detailed mapping, and that takes quite a few people," he said. "But that's what they committed to in 1980, and that's what we've been committed to since."
Recently the WMD worked with DigitalGlobe on a pilot that Blossom estimates would help the division generate four times the revenue per hour. The DigitalGlobe technology used multispectral satellite data -- red, blue, green and near infrared -- to map impervious surface areas in five Denver neighborhoods. The red, green and blue combine to form an image visible to human eyes, said Blossom.
"The near infrared measures the vegetative content -- or lack of it -- and it's highly sensitive, so it can discriminate between a gravel parking lot versus an asphalt parking lot," he explained.
The technology distinguishes impervious surfaces with 95 percent accuracy, according to Jeff Liedtke, DigitalGlobe's director of Civil Government Applications. He said there are two components to mapping the impervious surfaces, one of which is using the satellite imagery.
"The other is running it through an algorithm that classifies the image into impervious and pervious areas, and using our proprietary algorithm and special techniques to refine that," he said.
Liedtke said the Denver pilot helped DigitalGlobe assess the product's usefulness in a real-life setting.
"We had of lot of ideas on how this technology could be used, but we needed to deploy it in a real-life situation," he said. "We were very interested in assessing both the utility of the information, the accuracy of the information and how it would be used in day-to-day operations."
Denver's WMD will continue purchasing aerial photography -- which according to Blossom, costs $150,000 to $200,000 -- every two years because of its higher resolution, but Blossom said he hopes to purchase the satellite data in the interim years so the WMD has current data at least every year.
The WMD currently has aerial photos taken of the city/county of Denver biennially and digitizes them to map impervious surfaces for billing.
"That's mostly due to budget purposes since it's pretty expensive to acquire aerial photos for the whole city," Blossom said.
The aerial photos are taken when obstructions are least likely, but trees and other impediments block the camera's view of some properties. To account for obstructions and changes that may occur between aerial photo shoots, Blossom said the WMD systematically selects and investigates properties to verify the imagery's correctness.
"Anytime houses are built and then occupied, we map those properties," he said. "Anytime a parcel is split or two parcels are combined, we remap the impervious to verify that we have the correct amounts. Anytime property is bought or sold in the city, we do an inspection to make sure the storm bill is correct for the seller going to the buyer. Anytime customers call in and want to verify their bill, we map those."
Additionally the WMD conducts routine investigations where there has been a 40 percent to 50 percent change from previously collected imagery, Blossom said. On their computers, investigators search the overlaid images of their assigned areas and find changed properties by eye.
"That's a time-consuming process," Blossom said.
Using DigitalGlobe's satellite imagery and algorithm, properties can be flagged automatically.
"It's not up to the human eye to detect it and estimate 40 to 50 percent," Blossom said. "You can get exact numbers. I can identify all properties that have a 50 percent difference, all properties that have a 29.5 percent difference or whatever I specify in the queries I want to run."
Blossom said having more current data will also help the WMD give better customer service by providing a more accurate bill.
"A lot of people are being billed, and they've made changes to their land and their bill is incorrect," he said.
DigitalGlobe's Liedtke noted that more revenue could be realized by obtaining data more often than every two years. "There's a lot of growth in two years, and that's unrecognized revenue for the city and county of Denver if they don't assess those fees," he said.
Currently investigators are often delayed in getting to new construction sites. "It might be months before we get around to mapping those properties and adding them into our billing database," said Blossom. Streamlining the process could help the city keep up with Denver's rapid growth.
"The time-savings amounts to a more productive environment and a higher rate of revenue generation for wastewater," he said.
Blossom said engineers who plan storm water infrastructure could also gain from the maps. "Having a complete impervious map for the entire city gives them a great data set, and they can really refine and improve their models so they can be much more accurate," said Blossom. "Then they will know exactly what pipe size they need instead of an estimate now."
The impervious surface product, which Liedtke said would go for a standard price of $300 per square mile, has not yet been sold to any jurisdiction, but he said the NPDES -- a permitting process that regulates water pollution and is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- will drive demand for the technology.
"It's an unfunded mandate," Liedtke said. "So one way of generating the funds to comply with this mandate is to develop user fees."
NPDES regulations, which came out of the Clean Water Act, are being implemented in two phases. Phase I, which is already complete, required municipalities with populations of more than 100,000 to implement best management practices to minimize storm water pollution. Phase II, which started in 2003, requires the remaining municipalities -- with a few exceptions -- to implement the same practices.
Wheat Ridge, Colo., which is considering implementing a storm water billing utility, may be the first to purchase DigitalGlobe's technology for mapping impervious surfaces. Many Colorado communities are facing Phase II requirements, according to Jon Reynolds, project supervisor in Wheat Ridge.
"Almost one or two dozen in this Colorado area are in that population range, so we're just one of many," he said, adding that many nearby towns already implemented storm water billing programs. "Many smaller municipalities decided the only way to pay for this program is to implement a storm water billing utility. This was justifiable in that the municipalities are providing a storm water utility service."
"They're not inexpensive measures," said Alexandra Dunn, general counsel for the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies, noting that some management practices could include street sweeping, installing catch basins on drainage outfalls so rubbish doesn't flow to water bodies and marking drains so the public knows where the drains lead. "There are a number of technology and management practices that cities can put in place to mitigate the impact of storm water on water quality."
In some places, Dunn said, storm water costs could worsen. "Some states can really be more stringent than the federal government and the federal law," she said.
Though controversial, Dunn said some states were trying to place water quality requirements on storm water discharges that would make cities treat storm water -- something many consider too costly to realistically implement at this point. She said several jurisdictions have filed lawsuits to mitigate the requirements.
"It's not a done deal," she said. "This is the battlefield right now for cities." | <urn:uuid:89d47ed3-7c84-4f9c-b3a7-13839545d92e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.govtech.com/magazines/gt/Gently-Down-the-Stream.html?page=3 | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280668.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00104-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963526 | 1,828 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Have you ever told someone that you didn’t receive their text or their call? Although it can happen, it doesn’t sound very believable in this digital age. Can you imagine “I didn’t get that text or call” happening to everyone in a city? It might become more common if attackers embrace new security research that demonstrated how to block all incoming calls and text messages sent to other nearby phones connected to the same GSM cellular network.
There are numerous security flaws in the GSM mobile protocol; there are also many known attacks based on GSM cellular networks, such as sniffing GSM traffic and cracking encryption, or setting up a fake base station for a GSM interception attack. Recently at the USENIX Security Symposium, security researchers demonstrated two new attacks based on the GSM paging procedure during their presentation titled “Let Me Answer That for You: Exploiting Broadcast Information in Cellular Networks” [pdf]. The abstract states:
...it is feasible to hijack the transmission of mobile terminated services such as calls, perform targeted denial of service attacks against single subscribers and as well against large geographical regions within a metropolitan area.
Nico Golde, Kévin Redon, and Jean-Pierre Seifert from the Technical University Berlin and Telekom Innovation Laboratories modified the firmware [pdf slides] in Motorola phones; this embedded software is what controls how a phone communicates with cell towers. When a text or call is sent over a GSM network, the tower queries, or pages, all nearby devices in order to determine which phone is supposed to receive the call or text. It works on a “trust” system, and the intended phone replies, “It’s me.” But that trust can be violated, since the modified firmware “can respond to paging faster than the victim’s phone. When a network sends out a page, the modified phone says ‘It’s me’ first, and the victim’s phone never receives it.”
The researchers first presented “Let Me Answer That for You: Exploiting Broadcast Information in Cellular Networks” at the 29th Chaos Communication Congress (29c3). They said their new attack could stall communications in Berlin where the average GSM location area is about 200 square kilometers. In fact, they estimate that an attacker(s) with 11 similarly modified phones would be enough to shut down the service of Germany’s third-largest cellular network operator. “All those phones are listening to all the paging requests in that area, and they are answering ‘It’s me,’ and nobody in that cell will get an SMS or a phone call.”
In case you didn’t know, AT&T and T-Mobile are examples of GSM wireless service providers in the US. You’ve probably heard about the government paying AT&T to have its telecom employees work beside DEA agents for the secret Hemisphere Project. Because Hemisphere contains AT&T-supplied phone call records from as long ago as 1987, it is reportedly much larger than the NSA’s call record database that allegedly holds only five years of call records. AT&T documentation training slides indicate the database is also used by Homeland Security, FBI and other law enforcement agencies. It’s no surprise that the Justice Department wanted to keep Hemisphere a secret.
"Hemisphere covers every call that passes through an AT&T switch - not just those made by AT&T customers," reported the New York Times. "Some four billion call records are added to the database every day." Hemisphere can also query the database to discover what new phone number was replaced by a dropped phone that a criminal or drug dealer may have used as a “burner” disposable phone.
Some drug dealers don’t toss out their phone, but instead swap out the SIM card or spoof the IMEI number. Last month, we looked at a new and undetectable forensic method for tracking cellphones on a GSM network even if the owners tried those tactics to avoid “lawful interception” wiretapping.
You may not care about GSM, but GSM networks (2G) are the most common type of cellular network in the world. If you think you’re safe by using 4G and LTE, then read what the Berlin researchers wrote [pdf], “It is important to note that the main reason for evaluating the paging race condition in GSM was the availability of freely modifiable hardware and software. However, modern telecommunication standards such as UMTS or LTE are making use of exactly the same paging procedure principles. Insufficient cryptography and authentication further escalate the problem, but the root cause does not only pertain to GSM.” | <urn:uuid:ce924d4b-cc91-4aa1-a3f3-41b679552376> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.computerworld.com/article/2474736/mobile-security/phone-attack-can-hijack-calls-and-block-texts-sent-to-everyone-in-a-city.html | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00406-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941968 | 995 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Among the bigger concerns about cloud computing relate to data governance and regulatory issues about where data can legally reside. For example, a lot of countries in Europe and Asia prohibit storing data created inside their borders on servers that are beyond their judicial reach.
For this reason, along with improved performance from being closer to users, Rackspace has become the latest cloud computing provider to deploy its platform in Europe. It already has data centers in the UK, so opening up a cloud computing service really only means deploying its cloud computing-management software on servers that are already installed.
Over time, these distributed services will be federated to give customers that do business internally a cloud computing platform that can support their global operations, notes Pat Matthews, vice president and general manager for Cloud at Rackspace.
Technically, providers could offer services from anywhere on the globe. But this signals the globalization of cloud computing in a way that requires each provider to set up shop in the market it wants to serve. But local governments are becoming increasingly savvy about the economic implications of cloud computing, which just goes to show that like politics, all data is local. | <urn:uuid:bd2de621-833d-4c20-89f1-bd17a22ef00a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/vizard/the-globalization-of-cloud-computing/?cs=41244 | null | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00314-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954711 | 226 | 2.609375 | 3 |
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