Food Staples Dwindling in Egypt 01/30/2011

While discontent, resentment and nationalism continue to fuel demonstrations, one vital staple is in short supply: food. Many families in Egypt are fast running out of staples such as bread, beans and rice and are often unable or unwilling to shop for groceries.

Common Mistakes for Presentations 01/28/2011

A PowerPoint presentation can be an extremely valuable marketing tool for businesses in this day and age. Here are a few common mistakes that you should try to avoid when creating your presentations... Common Mistakes for Presentations

Mobile Security Concerns 01/27/2011

Academic security researchers have created an ingenious piece of malware that runs on Android cell phones and steals credit card details. As is typical, many are heralding it as a sign of a smartphone security apocalypse, but they need to calm down. Cybercriminals simply aren't that smart, and there is nothing new to be worried about. The so-called Soundminer malware listens in on phone conversations and uses speech recognition to decode credit card and PIN details that users might mention when calling their bank, as an example. DTMF tones heard when keys are pressed are also recognized and decoded.

Spam Declined 01/26/2011

While spam declined dramatically in 2010, social networking threats, identity-theft scams and phishing campaigns increased in sophistication and complexity, according to Ciscos Annual Review.

National Security Budget 01/25/2011

Considering the immense deficit-reduction work that lies ahead to help restore U.S. economic strength—which underwrites the nations military power—the aerospace industry ought to have breathed a sigh of relief when Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently unveiled the Pentagons Fiscal 2012 budget. Even with $78 billion stripped from future spending and another $100 million reallocated internally, government suppliers for the most part still dodged the proverbial bullet.

Security an Issue for College Sports 01/24/2011

Down wide, carpeted hallways and in and out of meeting rooms, new President Mark Emmert moved through the NCAAs annual convention in San Antonio last week with an entourage that spoke to a reality of modern sports. Beside him walked university presidents, key athletics administrators and, most always, a couple of stockily built guys in suits and earpieces who looked exactly like what they were. Security.

Cyber War Hype 01/23/2011

Cyberwar hype is inhibiting government attempts to develop an appropriate response to cybersecurity threats, say computer scientists. A heavyweight study by UK computer scientists for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development concludes that it is highly unlikely there will ever be a pure cyber war, comparable with recent conflicts in Afghanistan or the Balkans.

Intrusion Protection Tools Improve 01/22/2011

The latest tests of crucial equipment used to protect Internet-facing corporate networks show they are improving but are far from perfect in stopping hacker attacks. IPS (Intrusion protection systems) are often the front-line guard at the door of the Internet and used to detect sophisticated attacks designed to steal information or execute fraud. The systems detect attacks against applications or OSes intended to install malicious software such as keyloggers and rootkits.

Dot Com Bust Heading Our Way? 01/21/2011

Startups are raising huge rounds of financing. Valuations are rumored to be in the billions. Everybody and his dog has an eye on the social media scene of web apps. So are we headed for another cyclical bust, or are not we? While some of the numbers being floated around -- Groupon will IPO at a $15 billion valuation! Facebooks worth $50 billion! Zynga raised $366 million! -- are dizzyingly high, high enough to make us wonder if investors, entrepreneurs and journalists are not all a little out of their minds, there is another set of numbers that balance out the picture. Numbers that, as this journalist and others recall, one did not hear a lot of during the first dot-com boom-bust cycle: real revenues.

Google Chrome Holes 01/20/2011

Google has shelled out more than $14,000 in rewards for critical and high-risk vulnerabilities affecting its flagship Chrome web browser. The latest Google Chrome 8.0.552.237, available for all platforms, patches a total of 16 documented vulnerabilties, including one critical bug for which Google paid the first elite $3133.7 award to researcher Sergey Glazunov.

What is Hot and What is Not in Technology for 2011 01/19/2011

What is Hot 1. Virtual Cloud 2. Mobile Apps 3. Virtual Technology 4. Connectivity 5. Scalability What is Not 1. Privacy 2. Social Noise 3. Transparency 4. Regulation 5. Land Lines What is Hot What is Not in Technology for 2011

Disease a Security Threat 01/18/2011

One of the most worrisome national security threats of climate change is the spread of disease, among both people and animals, U.S. intelligence and health officials say. But more than a decade after such concerns were first raised by U.S. intelligence agencies, significant gaps remain in the health surveillance and response network - not just in developing nations, but in the United States as well, according to those officials and a review of federal documents and reports. And those gaps, they say, undermine the ability of the U.S. and world health officials to respond to disease outbreaks before they become national security threats.

Add a Podcast to Your Business 01/17/2011

Podcasts are easy for businesses to create and they can be a great communication channel with staff, existing customers or potential customers. The cost to implement podcasting is small typically under $100.00 in fact you can purchase a podcasting bundle for $69.95.

Lawmakers Continue to Debate Security 01/16/2011

Lawmakers are already engaged in vigorous debate over their security, with several pushing for dramatic measures and more money and others saying the actions of a single deranged gunman should not shut them off from the public.

2010 Reflections, 2011 Predictions 01/15/2011

The year of 2010 was considered a rough year for the United States. There was a variety of economic issues, a tragic oil spill, and two tumultuous wars. The world's troubles were no less; they also included evident with failing economies, political struggles and natural disasters. The environment faced both natural and man-made disasters in 2010. An earthquake in Haiti rocked the country to its roots early in the year. European travel and United Kingdom travel was suspended, disrupting travelers schedules for the better part of a week. When a volcano in Iceland erupted, making it too dangerous for commercial flights to fly. The Gulf of Mexico was tainted by an oil spill of massive proportions. Destroying  a way of life and ecosystem throughout the Gulf. The oil gushed unchecked into the serene waters, for more than 100 days. 2010 Reflections, 2011 Predictions

Governments Failure to Act Clouds the Facts 01/14/2011

Recent disparaging comments about private sector engagement in U.S. national cyber defense misrepresent collaboration and hard-won progress with the U.S. government and public sector. In an interview that aired on National Public Radio, a former Bush administration official applauded Estonias emerging citizen-based cyber army while casting aspersions at the contributions of our own nations corporate security experts. Not only are those assertions untrue, it is a ridiculous comparison. The U.S. is certainly not Estonia and the issues are more complex with more risk to us from criminals, terrorists and nation states. With the advent of cloud computing and new degrees of openness on the Internet, our problems could become even more complex. The characterization of private enterprise as standoffish by a former government insider, whose focus was not cyber, highlights the heart of the problem. The fact is, until recently we've not had sufficient expertise in the government to secure our critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.

Defense Clearance for Nuclear Case 01/13/2011

Lawyers for a New Mexico physicist, who is accused of trying to help Venezuela develop a nuclear weapon, have received security clearances and can begin to review documents after agreeing with prosecutors on a deal to share unclassified material. Attorney Amy Sirignano, representing former Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni, says the clearances were issued Thursday. Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni and his wife, Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni, are accused of offering to help develop a nuclear weapon for Venezuela through dealings with an undercover FBI agent, who was posing as a representative of the Venezuelan government.

Apple Security Loopholes Open Mac App Store to Piracy 01/12/2011

A number of security loopholes in the applications listed on the Mac App Store allow users to download paid applications for free and repackage bootleg programs with malicious code. Security oversights by Mac developers and Apple allow users to pirate or modify applications downloaded from the Mac App Store, several users reported on Jan. 6. Less than 24 hours after Apple unveiled the Mac App Store for the Mac OS X, reports emerged on various user forums, including Pastebin and Daring Fireball, that some paid apps do not properly validate App Store receipts, making it easy to obtain those programs for free. Users can copy the App Store receipt from any legitimate Mac App Store download—free or paid—and paste it to validate other paid applications, according to the posted instructions.

Guns in Schools 01/11/2011

Late Thursday morning, staff at Hoover High School in Des Moines discovered a student had brought a gun into the school. It is the kind of incident that rattles parents - especially a day after an Omaha high school student shot and killed an assistant principal, wounded the principal and later killed himself. And, especially days after an Iowa law went into effect that made it easier for people to get permits to carry guns. At Hoover, thankfully, no one was hurt. The student who allegedly brought a loaded handgun into the building was arrested. Classes were not disrupted. Parents were kept informed. Police say the student had no deadly plan.

UK Threat Level 01/10/2011

The U.K. has raised the security threat level for the country's transport hubs to severe from substantial, according to a person familiar with the matter, the latest reflection of mounting concern over a possible terrorist attack in Europe. U.K. authorities raised the threat level for transport hubs in the last two days, this person said. The U.K.s Department of Transport notified the aviation industry about the decision shortly after it was made, the person said.

Unscreened Cargo with Dead Dog 01/09/2011

A dead dog in a cardboard box placed aboard a flight from Newark to Los Angeles set off a scare 30,000 feet below when local airport security officers discovered the animal had not been screened, officials disclosed today. Concerned that the carcass could contain a bomb or be a disease carrier, security leaders huddled in Newark to decide whether to divert the plane that was already in the sky.

Wikileaks Leaks 01/08/2011

Recent headline-grabbing leaks by the controversial website again have highlighted for companies the complex and fast-changing nature of cyber risk exposures. Although the highest-profile information released by WikiLeaks has centered on government documents, concerns have been raised about corporations also becoming the target of potentially damaging information leaks. Before the infamous leak, the 250,000 State Department cables acquired by anti-secrecy activists resided in a database so obscure that few diplomats had heard of it. It had a bureaucratic name, Net-Centric Diplomacy, and served an important mission: the rapid sharing of information that could help uncover threats against the United States. But like many bureaucratic inventions, it expanded beyond what its creators had imagined. It also contained risks that no one foresaw.

10 key technology tutorials from 2010 01/07/2011

PC Advisor publishes hundreds of walk-throughs and tutorials every year, and 2010 was no different. Here are the Top 10 most popular technology tutorials we wrote and published in 2010. complete article

Google Notification of Hacked Site 01/06/2011

In a continued effort to help their users know exactly what they are searching for good has now launched a new service titled simply, Hacked Site Notification. Google Hacked Site Notification is exactly what it sounds like. When you search for a particular site the search giant uses a variety of automated tools to detect the fingerprints of a hacker on that site.

Hotmail Email Has Disappeared 01/05/2011

Some users of Microsoft Hotmail are starting off the new year scrambling to get back e-mails of old. A chorus of frantic users has posted complaints on Microsofts online forum that all of their messages have disappeared.

2010 A Year in Review 01/04/2011

The year of 2010 was considered a rough year for the United States. There was a variety of economic issues, a tragic oil spill, and two tumultuous wars. The world's troubles were no less; they also included evident with failing economies, political struggles and natural disasters. The environment faced both natural and man-made disasters in 2010. An earthquake in Haiti rocked the country to its roots early in the year. European travel and United Kingdom travel was suspended, disrupting travelers schedules for the better part of a week. When a volcano in Iceland erupted, making it too dangerous for commercial flights to fly. The Gulf of Mexico was tainted by an oil spill of massive proportions. Destroying  a way of life and ecosystem throughout the Gulf. The oil gushed unchecked into the serene waters, for more than 100 days. 2010 Reflections, 2011 Predictions

Top 10 Security Tools of 2010 01/03/2011

As smartphones and tablets complement and battle with notebooks and PCs as routes to the connected world, as corporate users and consumers turn to both traditional Web sites and newer social networking sites to communicate, share ideas, trade business concepts, and shop, corporate IT professionals and the government organizations overseeing the nations cybersecurity are all-too aware they must do more. And they must do it fast. Recognizing this, the federal government hopes to create a new wave of cybersecurity educational and certification programs in order to form the next, much-needed workforce. And law enforcement agencies around the world are becoming more adept at working cooperatively to combat the growing number, complexity, and sophistication of cyber criminals that pursue money and power through their creation of malware and network destruction. This teamwork already has brought down some botnet gangs in different nations.

India Security Increased 12/31/2010

India heightened security measures Tuesday amid fears a militant group is planning a New Years weekend terror attack. According to intelligence reports, a banned Pakistan-based militant group called Lashkar-e-Taiba may target the countrys financial capital of Mumbai as well as the beach resort state of Goa. Security has been increased at bus and train stations and airports. Police in Mumbai are also searching for four men suspected of entering the city for the purpose of carrying out a terrorist attack. Computer-aided photographs of the four suspects were released.

Security in the Cloud 12/31/2010

Security in the cloud is a key concern for 2011 as customers start to question how cloud computing can be safeguarded, it has been claimed. According to the 2011 Cloud Computing Predictions for CIOs and Business Technology Leaders report from the CIO Network, until now customers have thought of the cloud as unsecured, however in the coming months they will increasingly be asking how security can be achieved.

Privacy vs Security 12/30/2010

Privacy has emerged as a dominant topic of debate among digital marketers this year. Consumer watchdog groups are clamoring for new protective measures. The U.S. government, including the Federal Trade Commission, is considering regulating advertising methods and practices. Advertisers are taking proactive measures to self-regulate their behaviors in hopes of lessening any regulatory impact. Why the commotion? What has sparked such concern? More personalized, behaviorally-based advertisements.

Social Network Security 12/29/2010

Social networks will remain hotbeds of malicious attacks, McAfee predicted, but geolocation services like Foursquare and Facebook Places will see new prominence. In just a few clicks, cybercriminals can see in real time who is tweeting, where they are located, what they are saying, what their interests are, and what operating systems and applications they are using, McAfee noted. This wealth of personal information on individuals enables cybercriminals to craft a targeted attack.

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