Computer and IT

2020-12-28T10:45:00.003+08:00

Drone squad to be launched by Tokyo police

A drone squad, designed to locate and - if necessary - capture nuisance drones flown by members of the public, is to be launched by police in Tokyo.

The police unit will patrol important buildings such as the prime minister's office.

If a suspicious drone is detected, the operator will be warned via loudspeakers on the ground.

But if he or she fails to respond, police will launch drones equipped with nets to bring down the device.

"Terrorist attacks using drones carrying explosives are a possibility," a senior member of the police department's security bureau told the Asahi Shimbun website.

"We hope to defend the nation's functions with the worst-case scenario in mind."

In April, a drone carrying a small amount of radioactive material landed on the roof of the prime minister's office. No-one was injured and a man was subsequently arrested in connection with the incident.

A video posted online by Japanese website Jijicom shows how Tokyo Police's drones, complete with nets, might catch an unwanted airborne device in action.

Airspace restrictions

"In Japan, it is illegal to pilot drones over certain areas such as airports and power plants, over roads, or above a height of 150m," Paul Haswell, a partner at legal firm Pinsent Masons, told the BBC.

"Some cities such as Tokyo and Osaka have also outlawed their use in parks."

Regulations on drones came into force in Japan this week, following an amendment to the country's Aviation Act.

"Japan's new net-carrying, drone-disabling drone is certainly an interesting way to police those areas where drones are forbidden," added Mr Haswell.

Rules over drone use are being tightened up in several countries. In the US for example, authorities have called for a drone register which would list device owners across the nation.

Lynk.my - 1st Malaysian URL Shortener

2015-11-03T12:03:00.000+08:00

Assalamualaikum semua. Maaf lah dah lama x post benda baru. Bz sikit kebelakangan ni.

Ok. Posting kali ini adalah mengenai URL Shortener. Sesiapa yang rajin mendownload atau mengupload mesti tahu apa itu URL Shortener. Untuk yang tidak tahu apa itu URL Shortener, saya akan menerangkan serba sedikit mengenai URL Shortener.

Menurut laman web wikipedia.com : “URL shortening is a technique on the World Wide Web in which a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) may be made substantially shorter in length and still direct to the required page. This is achieved by using a redirect on a domain name that is short, which links to the web page that has a long URL.”
Kalau diterjemahkan lebih kurang maksudnya :
“suatu teknik / kaedah dimana alamat web dipendekkan untuk memudahkan penulisan tetapi masih mengekalkan muka asal web tersebut.”

Pendek kata URL Shortener ni memendekkan URL yang panjang itu. Selain memendekkan URL, URL Shortener juga memberi peluang kepada pengguna untuk menjana pendapatan dari setiap klik dari pengunjung laman tersebut. Contoh URL SHORTENER yang biasa digunakan adalah adf.ly / short.st / linkbucks.com seperti yang diketahui umum berpusat di luar negara. Masalah biasa yang timbul adalah dari segi pembayaran di mana pengguna harus mempunyai akaun Paypal, Payoneer, WebMoney dan sebagainya untuk mendaftar.

Sekarang tidak lagi menjadi masalah dengan munculnya URL Shortener yang pertama di Malaysia iaitu Lynk.my. Laman web ini berpusat di Malaysia n tidak perlu akaun Paypal, Payoneer, WebMoney dan sebagainya untuk mendaftar. Cukuplah dengan adanya akaun dengan bank-bank komersial di Malaysia terutamanya Maybank Bhd. Dengan ini maka mudah lah untuk rakyat Malaysia menjana pendapatan dari sumber ini. Syarikat ini adalah hak milik rakyat Malaysia dan pembayaran dibuat dalam Ringgit Malaysia (RM) dan bukannya USD.

Untuk mendaftar KLIK DI SiNi

Baru-baru ini pihak Lynk.my telah mengadakan 1 pertandingan dengan hadiah sebanyak RM4000 dalam pelbagai kategori. Pertandingan itu bermula 27hb Oktober 2015 – 27hb Disember 2015.

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Hack A Facebook Account For FREE

2013-02-06T16:30:00.001+08:00

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Computer Education Needs Dynamism And Curriculum Upgrade

2011-12-12T20:32:00.002+08:00

Isaiah Kolawale is the Head of Computer Department, Yaba College of Technology. A computer scientist and mathematician, Kolawole told FRANCA ENEGBETA in this interview that for the country to actualize Vision 202020, greater emphasis should be placed on IT education…

What have been your challenges since you assumed office as the Head of this Department?

Computing is changing everyday and you need to brace up with the new challenges and concept in the profession. Unlike other courses, new concepts come out regularly and we need to understand those concepts before we can impart it on our students. If you are not fast, while you are still on a concept you will discover that another one has been out. And so if you try to train the students the way you have always done, you will discover that you will not be accepted in the industry.

The other challenge is the issue of power which is a national issue. If you must learn the computer, you have to be constantly on the computer and the Internet; so you have problems when you don't have power. Of recent, Nigeria has actually been operating on zero power. When this is not in place, we are handicapped because computer functions on the basis of power.

What do you think is responsible for students lagging behind in practical computing after graduation?

That will not be for our own graduates here because we have over a hundred functioning computers in our computer laboratory which students use for learning. We endeavour to train them on new concepts in the industry.

What you have said generally is true because most of our institutions lack these facilities and computing is dynamic. Some lecturers that have been teaching for the last fifteen years still use the same notes, the same concepts and even the same curriculum. So the students will not get anything.

If you must impart the right knowledge in computing, you have to be dynamic and move along with the trend in technology. Then there is the issue of syllabus and curriculum and it is so unfortunate that Nigerian curriculum is done in such a way that it cannot be changed easily; this can be a problem. The review of curriculum should be dynamic in computer science because without a dynamic curriculum, the students will not be up to date.

Are your students allowed hands-on approach on the use of the computer?

Yes, computing is both theory and practical and we have lots of practical that we introduce our students to.

Though the course is practical based, they still need to have theoretical knowledge. So there is a blend of theory and practical.

What have been your school's contributions to the growth of ICT in Nigeria?

Yaba College of Science and Technology is one of the first institutions that started the use ofthe Internet even before it became a household name in Nigeria.

So we are really the pioneer of ICT applications delivery. We are also one of the few institutions that have Internet access in every office, classroom and even part of the student's hostels.

We organize trainings in ICT for both our students and staff and we are presently planning to make the department a pragmatic centre where we can do certifications. What are your views on local content?

This is one issue we will not be able to shy away from. Having our home-made computers and software is the most important thing that can happen to the IT industry and to Nigerian economy as a whole. As it is in other industries which are almost dead, what we do is just to assemble, which is not good for the industry and the country.

We actually make our students here make computer casing with wood and we try to fix in some of the components.

Must a casing be made with metal? What about wood or even plastic? These things should be looked into. But even with all these, we still can't go anywhere without resolving the power issue in Nigeria. This is the only way we can make headway in developing local content.

We have the capacity and manpower. Most of the software that our students and even colleagues write can compete internationally but these people lack encouragement.

Nigerians prefer going to India to buy software because they complain that Nigerian software are costly which is not true.

We should try and encourage the spirit of self-dependence. The environment now is too harsh for self dependency. There should be an enabling environment and law that will allow young and productive entrepreneurs function properly. They can be given incentives, loans and grants to start with.

What do you think about the CPN registration? Would it improve the quality of service?

Yes, it will. CPN is the umbrella body that regulates computing in Nigeria and we are glad to say that we are CPN certified. We attend conferences and even annual general meetings. CPN exists to control and ensure high quality. So with the National Board for Technical Education, (NBTE), they go to all schools to do accreditations and I think this is healthy for the industry.

They are in the forefront of ensuring quality in all tertiary institutions which I think is a major feat.

With the level of ICT in Nigeria, do you think the industry can meet up with what is being demanded by 2020?
No, I think we are lacking in the issue of IT education. Government should invest money in this sector by building ICT parks, training centres and even institutions. In Malaysia, there is a

university with about three campuses just for multimedia; they call it Multi Media University. We don't even have IT university here that offers just IT as a course alone. The government should establish universities and polytechnics dedicated to IT and ICT education alone.

How do we actualize Vision 2020?

Students should be focused on the IT profession. Focusing on banks and oil companies will not help us. We need software that can compete with other IT giants of the world. The government should create an enabling environment for students and IT personnel to function. Parks, ICT centres and institutions should be provided. The private concerns should also encourage IT education.

There should be organisations sponsoring IT education and establishing research centres. When I went to the Multimedia University in Malaysia, I discovered that Microsoft, Intel, and all the large organisations have laboratories there, well equipped and furnished for practical purposes.

We should try and see a situation where banks and oil companies will come in and invest on ICT development.

Drive-in cinemas: Will they survive the digital age?

2011-12-12T20:30:00.000+08:00

At their peak, there were more than 4,000 drive-in cinemas in the US. Now only a few hundred have survived against the odds - but could the cost of converting to digital be the final straw?

"I would hate to close America's oldest drive-in movie theatre, but it's a matter of personal choice about whether we can afford to spend that kind of money."

Shankweiler's, in Orefield, Pennsylvania, first opened its doors in 1934 but current owners Paul and Susan Geisinger fear the 2012 season may be its last.

Like many small independent cinemas across America, it could be forced out of business by the cost of converting to digital projection.

Mr Geisinger is coming up to retirement age and is not keen on the idea of taking out $175,000 (£112,000) loan to pay for a digital projector and the necessary building work to house it.

"It is a lot of money for a seasonal business. But we have been left with no choice. Either the conversion has to be made or it's going to close," says Mr Geisinger, who started working as a projectionist at Shankweiller's in 1971, before buying the business in 1984.

Rise and fall of the drive-in

1933: First US drive-in opens in New Jersey
1934: Wilson Shankweiler opens second in Pennsylvania, still going
1950: In-car heaters allow many drive-ins to stay open year-round
1958: Number of US drive-ins peaks at 4,063
1970s and 80s: High land values encourage many drive-in owners to sell up
1990s: Decline halts and some new drive-ins open as industry gains access to "first run" Hollywood blockbusters
Today: Currently 374 sites in US, with 618 screens

Source: United Drive-in Theatre Owners Association

The big Hollywood studios are eager to eliminate the cost of manufacturing and shipping the 35mm film prints that have traditionally been the mainstay of the industry.

By posting hard drives instead distributors could save hundreds of millions a year, according to some estimates - a tempting prospect for an industry under pressure from internet piracy and video games.

And with more than half the cinema screens in America already converted to digital, experts believe 35mm prints could disappear altogether within two or three years.

The industry says digital leads to a quicker turnover of movies, greater choice for consumers, and the promise of 3D and other special features.

But hundreds of small independent cinemas, in the US and around the world, have already decided they cannot afford to buy the equipment needed, say industry sources.

The death of the drive-in - if that is what is happening - is likely to be felt more keenly in the US than in a country like the UK, where the concept never really got out of first gear.

A generation of Americans spent their formative years - and did their courting - at the drive-in, in an era when the car was king.

At the height of their popularity, in the late 1950s, America had more drive-in movie theatres than indoor screens - more than 4,000 of them. But they declined in the 70s and 80s due to owners cashing in on high land values and the competition of video rentals.

About 400 drive-ins have survived to the present day, most of which are small, family-run concerns in rural areas.

'Passion pits'

Fred Heise took over the Melody Drive-In Theatre, in Knox, Indiana, from his father in the early 1970s, and had hoped to hand the business on to his son, until the digital spectre reared its head.

"We will probably end up doing it. It is one of those where you do it kicking and screaming," the 64-year-old says. "One wonders if you would live long enough to completely pay it off."

Drive-in cinemas have shown resilience to past challenges

Today's drive-ins are a far cry from the so-called teenage "passion pits" of 50s legend - you are more likely to be parked next to a pair of "baby boomers" reliving their youth, or a young family enjoying a cheap night out, than a car full of rowdy or amorous teenagers.

But despite the pervading air of nostalgia, the owners have tried to keep pace with technology.

Patrons can now listen to the movie on their car stereos, on a special FM frequency, rather than through the primitive "sound poles" that sit next to each parking bay.

Drive-ins also try to offer better value than the local multiplex. You can normally watch three or four of the latest Hollywood releases for less than $10 (£6.39) in total, as well as stocking up on popcorn and hot dogs for less than you would pay in one of the major chains.

"For me it's mostly family value. Because I work so much my daughter and I don't get to spend a lot of time together so we come here and we watch the shows," says Michael Ravenscroft, a truck salesman, from Sykesville, Maryland.

'Mesmerised'

He has been visiting Bengies, Maryland's only remaining drive-in, since he was eight.

Edward D Vogel's pride and joy: An original 1956 projector

Diane Hain, an accountant from Baltimore, is possibly Bengies' number one fan, having visited the theatre 70 times in the past year: "This place is special. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if it was gone."

Fortunately for her, Bengies owner, D Edward Vogel, is among those who plan to make the leap into digital. He is convinced the drive-in is more than just a museum piece.

"Young people, who have the video games and all those fancy toys and those nice phones, they are amazed.

"They come in here and they are mesmerised by this fine old antique I call the Bengies drive-in and that does warm my heart like you would not believe."

Mr Vogel, who bought Bengies from his father more than 20 years ago, is still using the same projection equipment his family installed when they opened the theatre in 1956.

'Scary' time

Maintaining the two vintage projectors, and splicing film together with classic trailers to provide a continuous show for customers, are what he enjoys most about the job and although he believes digital will rob the drive-in of some of its magic, he is in no mood to throw in the towel.

“Start Quote

I think it is a big loss to the American people”

Steve WilsonHoliday Drive-In, Indiana

"There is something so special about sunset to me. That moment before twilight. That even when I am not operating, I will look at that screen and my heart pines to put light up there."

Mr Vogel, who is also chairman of the United Drive-In Theatre Owners association, says it is a "scary" time for many of his members.

"You would think the distributors would take special care of the little guy and, truthfully, I don't think they really care. I think they already figure the screen count's going to go down."

Few drive-in owners will go hungry, even if they are forced to shut up shop. Many are sitting on prime real estate and should be able to look forward to a comfortable retirement.

'Retiring to Florida'

They are also reluctant to be seen as standing in the way of progress.

"I have seen digital and it is brilliant," says Steve Wilson, owner of the Holiday Drive-In, in Mitchell, Indiana, but he believes the distributors have pushed the technology on independent operators too quickly, before the price of the hardware has a chance to come down.

And he believes that if drive-ins are allowed to die, the US will lose a little piece of its soul.

Drive-in audiences have changed over the years

"I think it is a big loss to the American people. Everywhere, you see theatres winding down and people are just aghast at what is going on, but they cannot do anything about it."

He will not be among the drive-in owners "retiring to Florida" after "selling their land to Wal-Mart", he is quick to point out, and is currently looking for a job after deciding to get out of the cinema business.

Fewer than 20 drive-in cinemas around the world have so far made the plunge into digital, according to industry experts, and probably no more than four in the US.

But the industry has proved remarkably resilient over the years.

Shankweiler's, which was the second drive-in theatre to open in the US, but may well be the oldest one in the world to have stayed open continuously, even bounced back from being destroyed by a hurricane in the 1950s.

It would be a shame, says Paul Geisinger, if it were to close now.

"I am going to toss a coin and decide what to do," he says. "By September 2012 we will either have converted to digital or will be packing our things into boxes and closing it down."

You get the feeling this particular big screen story may yet have a sequel.

source : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15930813

IT department heads must become accountable for energy consumption.

2011-12-12T20:26:00.000+08:00

After this, businesses can get serious about using technology to reduce their carbon footprint.

KPMG technology innovation advisory director Dr Bruce McCabe says typical IT leaders can be split into two camps: those who have electricity in their budget, and the majority, who do not.

"When you look at IT being responsible for energy use, that brings up the question of chargeback and how that would work, how to charge individual departments for their energy use," McCabe says.

Given that many companies are still grappling with the intricacies of putting in place a chargeback system, it may be some time before technology is used to reduce the overall energy footprint of organisations.

McCabe believes the biggest gains in the green IT area will be made when technology is used to monitor the IT consumption of bigger assets. "Until now this has been unexplored; for any system, there is an opportunity to analyse energy use and energy efficiency."

Before the global financial crisis, green IT was high on the chief information officer's to-do list; now it is "middle of the road".

In October 2008, management consultant McKinsey put the IT industry's share of global greenhouse gas emissions at 3 per cent, and forecast a rise to 6 per cent by 2020.

McCabe says: "The single biggest step companies should look at is capacity utilisation, increasing energy savings by using virtualisation to spread the computer load" and by using fewer computers more efficiently.

Hydro Tasmania has undertaken such a task and been able to cut power consumption by more than 60 per cent.

"Moving to a virtualised server environment offers a very clear and fast return on investment, with payback available within as little as 12 months," Hydro Tasmania IT services manager Mark McLean says.

With IT services firm Logica, the company is working on other power saving projects such as desktop virtualisation.

"To limit paper waste in the organisation, we are in the final stages of a print project that will provide us with a centralised monitoring solution to show exactly where and who in the organisation is responsible for large amounts of printing," McLean says. "We are already seeing a reduction in paper consumption, but expect this to grow to a total reduction of 30-40 per cent once the project is fully completed."

McLean says the business will roll out several other projects using technology to cut carbon emissions. "These will include high-definition video conferencing units (and) desktop collaboration and screen sharing tools to reduce the need for staff to travel between our offices across Tasmania or interstate."

Hydro Tasmania is not a typical example of where Australian businesses are at with their green IT agenda.

McCabe believes the majority of Australian businesses are looking at green IT in terms of procurement practices, buying more energy efficient products and looking at virtualisation.

"Businesses need to get a sense of the end user footprint, capacity utilisation for processing power and storage; looking at virtualisation.

However, first they need to understand, measure and model energy consumption, arrange for separate billing, some company instrumenting, obtain data from every room or machine."

McCabe believes businesses need to get clever with data centres.

"This is where the biggest savings can be made -- look at cloud computing, look at things such as relocating a data centre with the airconditioning, clever solutions for cooling."

The biggest gains, however, are in the field.

"Using IT to decrease the energy footprint of the organisation, such as video conferencing and fleet management; using software to gain visibility of individual departments or individuals."

Source:"http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/smaller-carbon-footprints-begin-in-it-departments/story-e6frgakx-1225890951759"

Okay, let's make a deal. I win the iPad 2, you win the movie passes. Win-win for both of us right? #Churp2race

2011-04-21T21:58:00.000+08:00

Okay, let's make a deal. I win the iPad 2, you win the movie passes. Win-win for both of us right? #Churp2race

Broadband Internet Speeds 2009-2010: The Top 10 Countries

2011-03-27T13:12:00.000+08:00

Broadband Internet Speeds 2009-2010: The Top 10 Countries

Best Android tablets of 2011

2011-03-27T13:09:00.000+08:00

There are many Android tablets been designed one after the other, so far. Android tablets has gained its popularity due to its amazing features like amazing video quality, portability, much cheaper and touch sensitive screens that feels like never do leave those screens out of sight. Each time company creates its tablet, it tries to improve it in each and every respect in a most efficient manner.

Hence, it is necessary to discuss about the top latest Android tablets in the market.L et’s discuss it one by one.

1. Motorola Xoom – Motorola Xoom at Amazon.com Prized at $799.99

This Android tablet comes first due to the reasons like it drew maximum amount of attention by having super responsive 10.1 inch touch screen, captivating 1GHZ NVidia Tegra 2 Dual Core processor, that will run on Google’s upcoming Android 3.0 named Honeycomb OS. The screen has a perfect resolution of 1280 X 800 pixels as that of laptop screens.

In addition it has very cool processor equipment like it has 1 GB DDR2 RAM, internal storage of 32 GB. It has 2MP front-facing camera and a rear camera of 5Mp with a dual LED flash which record videos at 720 pixels. The video play back time is of 10 hours and a video playback resolution is 1080 pixels. It also got battery that can support 10 hours of video.

Though with these great features, some weak point got on this tablet is on Android tablet apps which are limited at launch time. And movie streaming option in this gadget is limited.

2. Asus EEE Pad Memo

This tablet is no doubt a good competitor in the market. It is special in its own way because it is neither of bigger size nor has very good video quality as that of Motorola Xoom. But this device is very powerful. The tablet is made for business purpose. The screen is 7 inch 1024 by 600 displays with Android 3.0 Honeycomb as its operating system. The device has a 4GB memory with the storage capacity of 64GB. The tablet has Wireless Bluetooth keyboard and has been provided with multiple input options.

In addition the tablet has Bluetooth 3.0 and wifi connectivity, SD slot card and just 2MP camera for video chatting.

3. Dell streak – Dell Streak Full Listings at Amazon.com

Dell name itself brings their products into any type of competition. After they decided to bring their tabs into the market, the two Dell Streak tablet with 7 inch and 10 inch model heated the market. Currently, these tablets run on android 2.2 Froyo on Nvidia’s Tegra 2 Dual core processor. They got 16 GB internal memory. Also the 4G networking is enabled in these tablets. The Dell streak tablet comes with the applications preloaded like T-Mobile TV, the BrainPOP, Zinio, Quick Video Chat, Blockbusters, Android kindle.

This device has three physical buttons in the bottom. It has rear facing camera of 5 MP resolutions and a 1.3 MP in the front facing camera, which is really weaker compared to other tablets of the same range. Even though, it really seems bad that the OS the streaks using is still the old one. If this is solved the streak is going to get the market into their hands.

As, the competition increases, new invention, ideas and technologies are to be added. We are still waiting for more surprises in this year. Let’s see who will be the champion and who will win the heart.

4. Samsung Galaxy tab – Samsung Galaxy Tab is listed $525.98 at Amazon.com

Samsung had unveiled its first tablet on May, 2010. This tablet was unleashed as a 7-inch Android tablet much like its Galaxy S phones which gave a tough competition to the Apple’s ipad. The grand success of the Samsung tablet was because of its highly sensitive touch screen which responses within fraction of time. The tablet still uses Android 2.2 which provides full Flash support. The tab got dual cameras and storage capacity is of 32GB and has Wifi as well as 3G connectivity.

Samsung has done a perfect job in finishing the looks of its tab. They have very contrasting front and back surfaces, where the back is coated in white shiny plastic while the front has flush black bezel and a glass screen.

Altogether, using this tablet will make you very proud of having it and its software applications are no doubt very much user friendly. Social networking apps like Facebook, Pandora, and Twitter are already present. This tab was no doubt a great achievement and Samsung is not going to stop now. It will try to go far with their new technologies.

Firefox 4 launches tomorrow, but available for download today

2011-03-27T13:01:00.000+08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Google released Chrome 10, then after that, Microsoft released IE9, so you’ll probably know what would happen next. Tomorrow, Mozilla will unveil version 4 of their renowned Firefox browser. But in case that you wanted to have the new browser experience first than everyone else, your in luck as the new release is now available for download from Mozilla’s server in Windows, Mac or Linux versions. So get yours now and celebrate the release tomorrow, just don’t spoil the fun for those willing to wait.

Drafting International Technology Licensing Agreements - The Devil Is In The Details.

2011-03-27T12:57:00.000+08:00

Drafting International Technology Licensing Agreements - The Devil Is In The Details.

Nak menang TV LCD? Set Teater Rumah? RM105 setiap jam? Sertai #AznilvsMuzik sekarang hanya di ERA fm!

2011-03-14T21:10:00.000+08:00

Nak menang TV LCD? Set Teater Rumah? RM105 setiap jam? Sertai #AznilvsMuzik sekarang hanya di ERA fm!

Whatsapp. Fruit Ninja. Cut The Rope. Tap Tap Revenge. Angry Birds. FaceTime. Wow! I can't wait to get my hands on the new iPhone4 with #DiGiiPhone4. All you need is to upgrade your phone line! Get yours today!

2011-03-14T20:42:00.000+08:00

Whatsapp. Fruit Ninja. Cut The Rope. Tap Tap Revenge. Angry Birds. FaceTime. Wow! I can't wait to get my hands on the new iPhone4 with #DiGiiPhone4. All you need is to upgrade your phone line! Get yours today!

How does getting rewarded through sharing sounds like to you? Join #ChurpChurp today and bring more friends to the community!

2011-03-14T20:40:00.000+08:00

How does getting rewarded through sharing sounds like to you? Join #ChurpChurp today and bring more friends to the community!

Am I hearing this wrongly? Freebies out for grabs with each reload? Crazyyy! Thank you, #DiGiSuperReload

2011-03-14T20:35:00.000+08:00

Am I hearing this wrongly? Freebies out for grabs with each reload? Crazyyy! Thank you, #DiGiSuperReload

Head over to this link & you can play the #MiloFuzeJamPack game. You would be the few lucky ones to walk away with prizes like iPad or even an iPhone. Cool or what!

2011-02-22T08:05:00.000+08:00

Head over to this link & you can play the #MiloFuzeJamPack game. You would be the few lucky ones to walk away with prizes like iPad or even an iPhone. Cool or what!

Can the government see what Web sites I visit?

2009-11-20T15:43:00.000+08:00

Imagine you're shopping at a mall. You browse different stores, make a few purchases and move on. Then, you notice that a man you don't know seems to be following you. You even catch a glimpse of him taking notes on what you're looking at and buying. The entire time you've been shopping, you've been spied on!

Many people fear that a similar thing is happening on the Web. They're worried that someone, usually the government, is recording and analyzing their Web browsing activity. They argue that these acts are an invasion of privacy. Are they right to be worried? Can the government keep track of all the Web sites everyone visits, and would it be able to act on that information?

Laptop Image Gallery

©iStockphoto/Angel Manuel Herrero
Good try, but a ski mask offers little protection from online scrutiny. See more laptop pictures.

It's easy to understand why some people are worried. The United States Patriot Act expands the government's ability to perform searches and install wiretaps. It doesn't seem like a big stretch to add tracking people's Internet activity to the list. These people fear that they'll be spied on whether they've done anything to justify it or not.

Big Brother's Browser

People who worry that the government is tracking their Web activities sometimes use the adjective Orwellian. The word means invasive and totalitarian, and it's named after author George Orwell, who wrote the book "1984." In that novel, a government known as Big Brother controls nearly every aspect of citizens' lives.

In some ways, fear about the government's ability to keep tabs on Web activities has reached the level of a conspiracy theory. In the most extreme version of the theory, the government is tracking not only Web site activity, but also is building a database of potential suspects for crimes ranging from corporate sabotage to terrorism. Other theories don't go that far, but still suggest the government is treating everyone like a suspect -- even if people aren't doing anything illegal or questionable.

Europe Looks for a Peer-to-Peer TV

2009-11-20T15:38:00.000+08:00

An open-source P2P project to compete with BitTorrent, Joost, and IPTV. IEEE Spectrum reports.

content provided by John Blau, IEEE Spectrum

The same kind of peer-to-peer file sharing that made Napster famous -- and infamous -- is being used in a new research project in Europe that aims to pipe TV programs over the Internet.

As part of the P2P-Next project, engineers from several European universities, research institutes, broadcast networks and manufacturers have agreed to pool their expertise to develop a file-sharing system, based on free open-source software.

The system could someday allow users connected to the Internet to deliver videos from anywhere to anywhere -- and to any number of people throughout the world.

The four-year project, which has attracted more than 20 member organizations, including the British Broadcasting Corp., Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands, and STMicroelectronics, will receive $29 million from the European Union under its Seventh Framework Program, with another $5 million to come from the project partners.

The goal is to develop not only an entirely open P2P platform for delivering video on demand and live webcast streaming services but one that is also legal, secure and reliable, according to Johan Pouwelse, a professor at Delft University and scientific director of the P2P-Next project.

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Powering Forward with P2P

The project reflects a growing European interest in Internet-based television, including pioneering work by the state-owned Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, which has launched a hugely successful TV series delivered via P2P.

Internet video companies like YouTube could someday benefit from the new technology, Pouwelse says, "Instead of having every bit come from their own central servers, which is costly, they could use P2P to reduce their bandwidth costs."

Unlike broadcasters, which beam shows from radio masts to home antennas, or cable-TV networks, which send content down a coaxial cable to set-top boxes in a similar broadcast fashion, Internet-based TV providers like YouTube require users to connect to central content servers to fetch programs.

Flipping the Switch from Cable to Internet

Replacing broadcast and cable TV service with the Internet would require many more servers, not to mention strain content suppliers to provide sufficient bandwidth to transmit the content. P2P technology, according to Pouwelse, tackles this problem by sharing storage and transmission tasks with all enabled users.

However, the initiative competes against Joost, a commercial Internet TV start-up that largely uses proprietary P2P technology developed by the same two Scandinavian entrepreneurs who launched the Kazaa music file-sharing exchange and the Skype voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. There are also numerous commercial Internet Protocol TV offerings now available from European telecommunications firms, mostly based on technology from Microsoft. Both services have been off to a bumpy start.

Setbacks and Challenges

Joost, which introduced commercial service last year, has suffered some technical glitches, resulting in frequent downtimes, particularly in March. Users also complain of excessive advertising, which many view as disruptive. Rumors are afloat that the venture could be on its last legs.

IPTV has also proven a challenge for many telcos in Europe and beyond. Initial hiccups in deploying Microsoft technology forced a few operators in Europe, such as Swisscom, to delay service; others, including Deutsche Telekom, have yet to find the right business model.

"IPTV is a telco approach with dedicated hardware, a closed business environment and walled gardens," Pouwelse says. "And although Joost uses some open-source for minute components, it's largely proprietary technology. P2P-Next is entirely open to all who want to use it. The system offers more choice and a nearly cost-free way for broadcasters to distribute content."

Delft University, for instance, is contributing its Tribler technology as a core component of the planned P2P-Next system, according to Pouwelse. Tribler, which stems from the word "tribe" and refers to its usage of social networks, is a client application based on an open-source implementation of the BitTorrent communications protocol.

Chomping at the BitTorrent

BitTorrent, widely used today for downloading TV shows from the Internet, is designed to distribute large amounts of data without the original distributor having to pick up the entire tab for hardware, hosting and bandwidth costs. Through the protocol, each recipient delivers pieces of data to other recipients, thereby reducing the cost and capacity burdens on any one individual.

Currently, BitTorrent traffic accounts for around 49 percent of traffic on the Internet backbone, of which nearly 50 percent is TV programming, according to Ipoque, a German company that specializes in monitoring Internet traffic.

For years, P2P has been a key technology for content pirates, offering an efficient way for them to share files. Hollywood hated it -- until last year when BitTorrent's co-founders decided to go commercial.

In a move to win over the studios, as well as publishers of videos, games and software, co-founders Ashwin Navin and Bram Cohen added digital rights management technology to protect content and closed the door to open-source development.

Fox, MTV, Paramount and Warner Brothers have since become supporters of BitTorrent's new commercial service.

Pouwelse believes that the move by BitTorrent's founders to sever ties with the open-source community will, in the long run, undermine further development of the technology, and that licensing fees will deter others from using the commercial application. Fortunately, some components of BitTorrent remain open to implement, he adds, and ventures including P2P-Next are using these to build new systems.

From TV, to PC -- and Beyond

Another advantage of P2P-Next over Joost is its "zero use" of servers, according to Pouwelse. The system will allow any type of Internet-connected device to participate, he says, adding that the venture will begin with PCs and expand later to other devices.

"By distributing all functionality, we are aiming for unbounded scalability," Pouwelse says.

What worked for one hugely successful P2P start-up may not work for all. With its largely proprietary and somewhat centralized approach, Skype is arguably the most successful P2P VoIP product in the world. The venture found a niche and successfully exploited it. Its business case is now under attack by telephone companies rolling out national and international flat-rate fees. The verdict on Joost is still out.

It's still too early to assess the chances of success for the P2P-Next initiative. Numerous European collaborative research projects have failed or underachieved because of rigid bureaucracy, cross-border rivalries, intercultural differences, or varying opinions on direction. Pouwelse is also honest enough to admit to the various problems inherent to P2P.

"The challenge of P2P is to turn something that can be unreliable and potentially malicious into something that is reliable and trustworthy and works," he says.

Nevertheless, Pouwelse believes that the initiative's approach -- "open source, open papers and open comments" -- could provide a big boost to the project in particular and to the use of P2P technology in general to deliver next-generation Internet TV services.

Others are equally optimistic.

"It's a test bed for new ideas, allowing us to collaborate with colleagues across Europe and to hone and develop technology that could help shape TV of tomorrow," writes George Wright, executive producer of the Rapid Development Unit within BBC's Future Media & Technology group, in a blog on the BBC Web site.

Pouwelse puts it another way. "This is really about who will define and deliver the TV standard of the future," he says.

John Blau writes about technology from Dusseldorf, Germany. For IEEE Spectrum, he explained German resistance to carbon caps on European cars and for IEEE Spectrum Online he describeda low-power processor for a disposable wireless vital-signs monitor. The views expressed are the author's alone and do not represent the official position of Discovery Communications.

Sality.AO, a virus that takes us back to the future

2009-03-03T15:50:00.001+08:00

Sality.AO is a virus that combines the features of traditional viruses (infecting files and damaging as many computers as possible to achieve notoriety for creators) with the objectives of new malware, i.e. generating financial returns for cyber-criminals. PandaLabs, Panda Security’s malware detection and analysis laboratory, has noted an increase in the number of infections caused by this malware over recent days, as well as new variants using the same techniques. It is therefore advising users to be on their guard against a possible massive attack.

Sality.AO uses some techniques which haven’t been seen for years, such as EPO or Cavity. These techniques relate to the way in which the original file is modified in order to infect it, making it more difficult to detect these changes and to disinfect it. EPO allows part of a legitimate file to be run before infection starts, making it difficult to detect the malware. Cavity involves inserting the virus code in blank spaces within the legitimate file’s code, making it both more difficult to locate and to disinfect infected files.

These techniques are far more complex than those that can be achieved with automatic malware creation tools, which have been responsible for much of the increase in the number of threats in circulation recently. They require much greater skill and knowledge of malicious code programming.

In addition to these techniques related with early malware, Sality.AO includes a series of features associated with new malware trends, such as the possibility to connect to IRC channels to receive remote commands, potentially turning the infected computer into a zombie. Such zombie computers can be used for sending spam, distributing malware, denial of service attacks, etc. Similarly, infections are not just restricted to files, as was the case with old viruses, but also look to propagate across the Internet, in line with new trends. To this end, it uses an iFrame to infect PHP, ASP and .HTML files on the computer. The result is that when any of these files are run the browser is redirected, without the user’s knowledge, to a malicious page that launches an exploit against a computer in order to download more malware. But that is not all. If any of the infected files are posted on a Web page –and bear in mind these file types are typically uploaded to the Web-, any users downloading the files or visiting the Web pages will become infected.

The file downloaded through this technique is what PandaLabs refers to as hybrid malware, as it combines the functions of Trojans and viruses. The Trojan, in addition, has downloader features for downloading other strains of malware to the computer. The URLs used by this downloader were still not operative at the time of the PandaLabs analysis, but they could become active as the number of infected computers increases, according to Panda Security’s laboratory.

“As we forecast in our annual report, the distribution of classic malicious code such as viruses will be a major trend in 2009. The use of increasingly sophisticated detection technologies like Panda Security’s Collective Intelligence, capable of detecting even low-level attacks and the newest malware techniques, will make cyber-crooks turn to old codes, adapted to new needs. This means they won't be viruses designed simply to spread or damage computers, as they were 10 years ago, but will be designed, such as in this case, to hide Trojans or turn computers into zombies”, warns Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs.

Source: www.pandasecurity.com

What is a Web Forgery? What is Phishing?

2009-01-13T08:09:00.000+08:00

Web Forgery (also known as “Phishing”) is a form of identity theft that occurs when a malicious Web site impersonates a legitimate one in order to trick you into giving up sensitive information such as passwords, account details, or credit card numbers. Phishing attacks usually come from email messages that attempt to lure the recipient into updating their personal information on fake, but very real looking, Web sites. More information on phishing can be found at the Anti-Phishing Working Group, and there are a number of examples and resources available at the Wikipedia Phishing page.

Default gateway

2008-12-16T11:29:00.000+08:00

A gateway is a node (a router) on a computer network that serves as an access point to another network.
A Default Gateway (Def.GW) is the node on the computer network that is chosen when the IP address does not belong to any other entities in the Routing Table.
In homes, the gateway is usually the ISP-provided device that connects the user to the Internet, such as a DSL or cable modem.
In enterprises, however, the gateway is the node that routes the traffic from a workstation to another network segment. The default gateway is commonly used to be the node connecting the internal networks and the outside network (Internet). In such a situation, the gateway node could act as a proxy server and a firewall. The gateway is also associated with both a router, which uses headers and forwarding tables to determine where packets are sent, and a switch, which provides the actual path for the packet in and out of the gateway.
In other words, it is an entry point and an exit point in a network.
Usage
A default gateway is used by a host when an IP packet's destination address belongs to someplace outside the local subnet (thus requiring more than one hop of Ethernet communication). The default gateway address is usually an interface belonging to the LAN's border router.

Applications affected by NAT

2008-12-16T11:27:00.000+08:00

Some Application Layer protocols (such as FTP and SIP) send explicit network addresses within their application data. FTP in active mode, for example, uses separate connections for control traffic (commands) and for data traffic (file contents). When requesting a file transfer, the host making the request identifies the corresponding data connection by its network layer and transport layer addresses. If the host making the request lies behind a simple NAT firewall, the translation of the IP address and/or TCP port number makes the information received by the server invalid. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) controls Voice over IP (VoIP) communications and suffers the same problem . SIP may use multiple ports to set up a connection and transmit voice stream via RTP. IP addresses and port numbers are encoded in the payload data and must be known prior to the traversal of NATs. Without special techniques, such as STUN, NAT behavior is unpredictable and communications may fail.
Application Layer Gateway (ALG) software or hardware may correct these problems. An ALG software module running on a NAT firewall device updates any payload data made invalid by address translation. ALGs obviously need to understand the higher-layer protocol that they need to fix, and so each protocol with this problem requires a separate ALG.
Another possible solution to this problem is to use NAT traversal techniques using protocols such as STUN or ICE or proprietary approaches in a session border controller. NAT traversal is possible in both TCP- and UDP-based applications, but the UDP-based technique is simpler, more widely understood, and more compatible with legacy NATs. In either case, the high level protocol must be designed with NAT traversal in mind, and it does not work reliably across symmetric NATs or other poorly-behaved legacy NATs.
Other possibilities are UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) or Bonjour (NAT-PMP), but these require the cooperation of the NAT device.
Most traditional client-server protocols (FTP being the main exception), however, do not send layer 3 contact information and therefore do not require any special treatment by NATs. In fact, avoiding NAT complications is practically a requirement when designing new higher-layer protocols today.
NATs can also cause problems where IPsec encryption is applied and in cases where multiple devices such as SIP phones are located behind a NAT. Phones which encrypt their signaling with IPsec encapsulate the port information within the IPsec packet meaning that NA(P)T devices cannot access and translate the port. In these cases the NA(P)T devices revert to simple NAT operation. This means that all traffic returning to the NAT will be mapped onto one client causing the service to fail. There are a couple of solutions to this problem, one is to use TLS which operates at level 4 in the OSI Reference Model and therefore does not mask the port number, or to Encapsulate the IPsec within UDP - the latter being the solution chosen by TISPAN to achieve secure NAT traversal.
The DNS protocol vulnerability announced by Dan Kaminsky on 2008 July 8 is indirectly affected by NAT port mapping. To avoid DNS server cache poisoning, it is highly desirable to not translate UDP source port numbers of outgoing DNS requests from any DNS server which is behind a firewall which implements NAT. The recommended work-around for the DNS vulnerability is to make all caching DNS servers use randomized UDP source ports. If the NAT function de-randomizes the UDP source ports, the DNS server will be made vulnerable.

NAT and TCP/UDP

2008-12-16T11:24:00.000+08:00

"Pure NAT", operating on IP alone, may or may not correctly parse protocols that are totally concerned with IP information, such as ICMP, depending on whether the payload is interpreted by a host on the "inside" or "outside" of translation. As soon as the protocol stack is climbed, even with such basic protocols such TCP and UDP, the protocols will break unless NAT takes action beyond the network layer.
IP has a checksum in each packet header, which provides error detection only for the header. IP datagrams may become fragmented and it is necessary for a NAT to reassemble these fragments to allow correct recalculation of higher level checksums and correct tracking of which packets belong to which connection.
The major transport layer protocols, TCP and UDP, have a checksum that covers all the data they carry, as well as the TCP/UDP header, plus a "pseudo-header" that contains the source and destination IP addresses of the packet carrying the TCP/UDP header. For an originating NAT to successfully pass TCP or UDP, it must recompute the TCP/UDP header checksum based on the translated IP addresses, not the original ones, and put that checksum into the TCP/UDP header of the first packet of the fragmented set of packets. The receiving NAT must recompute the IP checksum on every packet it passes to the destination host, and also recognize and recompute the TCP/UDP header using the retranslated addresses and pseudo-header. This is not a completely solved problem. One solution is for the receiving NAT to reassemble the entire segment and then recompute a checksum calculated across all packets.
It may be wise for the originating host to do MTU Path Discovery (RFC 1191) to determine what MTU will go to the end without fragmentation, and then set the "don't fragment" bit in the appropriate packets. There is no totally general solution to this problem, which is why one of the goals of IPv6 is to avoid NAT.

Basic NAT and PAT

2008-12-16T11:10:00.000+08:00

There are two levels of network address translation.
• Basic NAT. This involves IP address translation only, not port mapping.
• PAT (Port Address Translation). Also called simply "NAT" or "Network Address Port Translation, NAPT". This involves the translation of both IP addresses and port numbers.
All internet packets have a source IP address and a destination IP address. Both or either of the source and destination addresses may be translated.
Some internet packets do not have port numbers. For example, ICMP packets have no port numbers. However, the vast bulk of internet traffic is TCP and UDP packets, which do have port numbers. Packets which do have port numbers have both a source port number and a destination port number. Both or either of the source and destination ports may be translated.
NAT which involves translation of the source IP address and/or source port is called source NAT or SNAT. This re-writes the IP address and/or port number of the computer which originated the packet.
NAT which involves translation of the destination IP address and/or destination port number is called destination NAT or DNAT. This re-writes the IP address and/or port number corresponding to the destination computer.
SNAT and DNAT may be applied simultaneously to internet packets.
NOTE: 'PAT', as it is referred to here, is referred to by Cisco as NAT 'overloading', as described in this Howstuffworks article, provided to Howstuffworks by Cisco: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/nat3.htm

Network address translation

2008-12-16T10:58:00.000+08:00

In computer networking, network address translation (NAT) is the process of modifying network address information in datagram packet headers while in transit across a traffic routing device for the purpose of remapping a given address space into another.
Most often today, NAT is used in conjunction with network masquerading (or IP masquerading) which is a technique that hides an entire address space, usually consisting of private network addresses (RFC 1918), behind a single IP address in another, often public address space. This mechanism is implemented in a routing device that uses stateful translation tables to map the "hidden" addresses into a single address and then rewrites the outgoing Internet Protocol (IP) packets on exit so that they appear to originate from the router. In the reverse communications path, responses are mapped back to the originating IP address using the rules ("state") stored in the translation tables. The translation table rules established in this fashion are flushed after a short period without new traffic refreshing their state.
As described, the method only allows transit traffic through the router when it is originating in the masqueraded network, since this establishes the translation tables. However, most NAT devices today allow the network administrator to configure translation tables entries for permanent use. This feature is often referred to as "static NAT" or port forwarding and allows traffic originating in the 'outside' network to reach designated hosts in the masqueraded network.
Because of the popularity of this technique, see below, the term NAT has become virtually synonymous with the method of IP masquerading.
Network address translation has serious consequences (see below, Drawbacks & Benefits) on the quality of Internet connectivity and requires careful attention to the details of its implementation. As a result, many methods have been devised to alleviate the issues encountered. See article on NAT traversal.

Overview

In the mid-1990's NAT became a popular tool for alleviating the IPv4 address shortage. NAT has proven particularly popular in countries that (for historical reasons) had fewer address space blocks allocated per capita.[citation needed] than, for example, the United States. It has become a standard, indispensable feature in routers for home and small-office Internet connections.
Most systems using NAT do so in order to enable multiple hosts on a private network to access the Internet using a single public IP address (see gateway). However, NAT breaks the originally envisioned model of IP end-to-end connectivity across the Internet and introduces complications in communication between hosts and has performance impacts.
NAT obscures an internal network's structure: all traffic appears to outside parties as if it originates from the gateway machine.
It has been argued that the wide adoption of IPv6 would make NAT unnecessary, as NAT is a method of handling the shortage of the IPv4 address space.[citation needed]
Network address translation involves re-writing the source and/or destination IP addresses and usually also the TCP/UDP port numbers of IP packets as they pass through the NAT. Checksums (both IP and TCP/UDP) must also be rewritten to take account of the changes.
In a typical configuration, a local network uses one of the designated "private" IP address subnets (the RFC 1918 Private Network Addresses are 192.168.x.x, 172.16.x.x through 172.31.x.x, and 10.x.x.x (or using CIDR notation, 192.168/16, 172.16/12, and 10/8), and a router on that network has a private address (such as 192.168.0.1) in that address space. The router is also connected to the Internet with a single "public" address (known as "overloaded" NAT) or multiple "public" addresses assigned by an ISP. As traffic passes from the local network to the Internet, the source address in each packet is translated on the fly from the private addresses to the public address(es). The router tracks basic data about each active connection (particularly the destination address and port). When a reply returns to the router, it uses the connection tracking data it stored during the outbound phase to determine where on the internal network to forward the reply; the TCP or UDP client port numbers are used to demultiplex the packets in the case of overloaded NAT, or IP address and port number when multiple public addresses are available, on packet return. To a system on the Internet, the router itself appears to be the source/destination for this traffic.