As developers for tablets and smartphones we like to keep abreast of the latest mobile technology developments . This is a daily digest of mobile development and related technology news gathered from the BBC, the New York Times, New Scientist and the Globe and Mail to name a few. We scour the web for articles concerning, iPhone, iPad and android development, iOS and android operating systems as well as general articles on advances in mobile technology. We hope you find this useful and that it helps to keep you up to date with the latest technology developments.
VIDEO: The espresso maker of home brewing?
Richard Taylor checks out the Picobrew Zymatic, a contraption its maker hopes will revolutionise home beer brewing.
Hackers say Hollywood gets Blackhat right
How the Blackhat film gets the internet right
US news sites hacked on Twitter
The Twitter accounts of the New York Post and United Press International (UPI) have been hacked with fake tweets on economic and military news.
Kylie From Target Might Be Even Better Than Alex From Target
If you thought #AlexFromTarget was funny, let us introduce you to your new favorite Target celebrity, Kylie From Target.
Viner Bailey Elizabeth was perusing the Target aisles when she thought she had the ultimate celebrity spotting: Kylie Jenner. Naturally, Bailey approached Kylie and lucky for us, she Vined the encounter:
To this Viner’s credit though, Fylie (Fake Kylie) From Target looks a lot like real Kylie. Plus, this girl is obviously taking some major style cues from the blue hair extensions to the flannel around her waist.
Either way, we’re grateful for the hilarity that ensued from this awkward moment.
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H/T Seventeen
Everything You Need To Know About Sounding Smart During A TED Talk
He may not be saying much of anything, but his delivery is spot-on.
Will Stephen, a performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade, put together a — let’s call it “unique” — TED Talk.
“I have nothing. Nada. Zip, zilch, zippo,” Stephen, who’s also a writer for New York Magazine, The New Yorker and CollegeHumor, said in his presentation at TEDXNewYork last month. “I have nothing to say whatsoever, and yet through my manner of speaking I will make it seem like I do.”
We’ve certainly never heard anyone sound so smart while talking about nothing.
H/T Reddit
Windows Laptops, Tablets Take Center Stage
Whether you run a small business or are an avid gamer, there’s a laptop or mobile device that can fit into your lifestyle.
We’ve been playing with four Microsoft Windows-based devices that run the gamut from vanilla, strictly business computers to feature-rich devices that could possibly replace your old desktop gaming rig.
The E-FUN Nextbook 10.1 ($199) is an entry-level Windows tablet aimed at the user who may want to use it to check email, keep tabs on Facebook friends and troll the Internet. Although it has all of the features of a standard Windows 8.1 device, it is definitely not a go-to machine for power users. Instead, it’s aimed at moms, pops and their offspring who need a reliable way to stay in touch with what’s happening in the universe without shelling out the big bucks being charged for more powerful tablets.
The one we tested worked perfectly out of the box. We signed on using our Microsoft account and, as if by magic, everything we had set up on our main computer appeared on the screen.
The only big drawback that really bugged us was how slow it was. It took twice as long to upload web pages and documents — which could be due to a slow Intel ATOM quad-core processor and only one gigabyte of RAM — when we compared it with the other three devices. But again, this wasn’t meant for those of us that want a lean, mean machine.
The tablet comes with a keyboard that magnetically docks with it. All you have to do is fit it into a slot on top of the keyboard and, voila, you have a 10.1-inch laptop. We docked and undocked it several times to see if it would become “confused” by the switch from a keyboard to a standard touch-screen mobile device and it detected the change perfectly every time.
The Nextbook is also a bit heavier than the more expensive devices. The weight isn’t listed among the technical specifications on the company’s website, but the weight difference is noticeable just holding it in one hand (docked and undocked) and another similarly equipped tablet in the other.
The built-in cameras were also a bit of a disappointment. The front-facing camera is only rated at 0.3 megapixels (which is minimal even for a webcam) and the back camera, which you would use to take pictures or videos, is rated at two megapixels.
The inputs are pretty typical for tablets (but not for laptops) — a mini-USB port and micro-HDMI port plus a micro SD card slot.
Here are the rest of the specs:
A 10.1-inch IPS screen rated at 1280 by 800 megapixels
32 gigabytes of onboard storage
Built-in WiFi
Bluetooth 4.0
A certificate for a free year of Microsoft Office 360
A built-in microphone
The Quantum View 10.1 Tablet ($399) from Quantum Suppliers is another fairly inexpensive tablet/laptop combo, but it can definitely give the higher-priced models some healthy competition.
The one we tested came with a keybord/magnetic docking station that doubles as a stand, allowing us to use the device either in touchscreen or keyboard mode. We, again, docked and undocked it several times and it immediately recognized whether we were in laptop or keyboard mode.
As with the Nextbook (and all of the Windows machines we tested) it picked up all of our settings when we signed in using our Microsoft account, including giving us access to a previously purchased version of Microsoft Office 2013.
The Quantum View is also one of the faster tablets we’ve played with, loading websites and programs quicker than we expected from a device in its price range. This could be because the device uses the new Intel Baytrail quad-core processor rather than the older ATOM processor found in older machines.
It is also fairly light, even with the keyboard/case attached.
Again, as with the Nextbook, it comes with mini USB and micro HDMI ports and a micro SD card slot and its back-facing camera is rated at two megapixels. The front-facing camera is a bit better than the Nexbook’s, rated at two megapixels.
The only thing missing that would really make it more of a fearsome competitor to the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is a stylus. But, on the whole, this Quantum View tablet, at about half the price of the Surface Pro, qualifies as a “must-have” for budget-conscious consumers needing a good, reliable tablet.
Other key features include:
A certificate for free access to Microsoft Windows 360
A 1280 by 800 resolution touch screen
Gen 7 Intel HD graphics
Two gigabytes of RAM and 32 gigabytes of onboard memory
Bluetooth 4.1
Built-in WiFi
A 3G dongle to connect to your wireless provider’s network
A mini USB switch to Ethernet
A standard headphone jack (which is a necessity if you want great sound)
Toshiba’s new Tecra C-50B laptop ($579) is aimed at the small/medium-sized business user. There are no frills or juiced up innards. This is strictly a machine designed for those of usespending our time analyzing spreadsheets and writing memos and letters.
The basic unit comes with an Intel i3 processor and Windows 7 with a free upgrade to Windows 8.1, a 500 gigabyte hard drive, four gigabytes of RAM and standard HDMI, USB 2.0 and 3.0, VGA and Ethernet ports. It also comes with a DVD optical drive and a multicard reader. I mention this because, in today’s world of lightweight ultrabooks, the DVD/CD drives have become extinct.
Toshiba’s use of an older 5400 RPM hard drive instead of a newer solid state drive tends to slow the device down a bit, but that has little impact on business users. Also, because it has an Intel i3 processor, it tends to drag a bit when loading websites and multitasking slows it down.
Overall, as with everything bearing the Toshiba brand, this is a great computer for anyone needing a good, reliable laptop to take on the road for their business.
Other features include:
A slot for a security lock
Bluetooth 4.0
Built-in WiFi
An HD webcam and microphone
Built-in speakers (fair, but adequate)
A 15.6-inch 1366 by 768 display (good enough for 720p HD)
One open memory slot to boost RAM
It weighs five pounds
A one-year limited warranty
Last is the ASUS Zenbook NX500 ($1,399), which is not only beautiful to behold, it has brains too.
Featuring a highly polished aluminum case, this higher-priced laptop/ultrabook is truly the shining star in this quartet – - – in size and features. Weighing a hair less than five pounds, the Zenbook features a 15.6-inch 3840 by 2860 display, a 256 gigabyte solid state hard drive and eight gigabytes of RAM.
Like most ultrabooks, there’s no DVD or CD-ROM drive, but its Intel Core i7 processor, plus the solid state drive, make it a speed demon when compared with the other devices in this group. Add to this three full-size USB 3.0 ports, a full-size HDMI port and an SD card reader and you have a high-end package most computer fanatics would spend their last dollar to purchase.
Other key features include:
An HD webcam and microphone
Built-in WiFi
Bluetooth 4.0
An NVIDIA G-Force GTX85OM two gigabyte graphics card
Windows 8.1
Bang & Olufsen speakers
A soft case to protect the aluminum finish
Plus, for those needing something extra, there’s a 4K version that sells for about $2,700.
Attention Facebook users: Check out Michael Berman’s Jocgeek fan page at www.facebook.com/jocgeek, or follow him on Twitter @jocgeek. You can also contact him via email at jocgeek@earthlink.net or through his website at www.jocgeek.com.
Scientists Create Laser No Bigger Than A Single Grain Of Rice
It sounds like something straight out of science fiction: a laser no bigger than a grain of rice that uses one-billionth of the electric current needed to power a hair dryer.
But researchers at Princeton University have created just such a device–and they say it represents a big step forward for quantum computing.
“It is basically as small as you can go with these single-electron devices,” Dr. Jason Petta, a professor of physics at the university and the leader of the team that built the laser, said in a written statement.
To create the microwave laser, or “maser,” Petta and his colleagues used thin nanowires to link up pairs of quantum dots–artificial molecules made up of bits of a semiconductor material called indium arsenide.
Then they placed two of these “double quantum dots” six millimeters apart inside a small cavity made from superconductor material, called niobium, with mirrors on either side.
When the experimental device was hooked up to a battery, electrons flowed through the quantum dots. As the electrons transitioned from a higher energy state to a lower one, they emitted photons in the microwave range. These particles of light bounced off the mirrors to produce a focused beam of microwave energy.
“The remarkable feature of this device is that it is ‘pumped’ by single electrons tunneling from one quantum dot to another,” Petta told The Huffington Post in an email. “It is like a line of people crossing a wide stream by leaping onto a rock so small that it can only hold one person,” he added in the statement. “They are forced to cross the stream one at a time.”
(Story continues below image.)
A double quantum dot as imaged by a scanning electron microscope. Current flows one electron at a time through two quantum dots (red circles).
Exactly what good is such a device? The researchers hope to use double quantum dots as quantum bits, or “qubits,” which are the basic units of information in quantum computers.
One of the biggest challenges in quantum computing is coupling qubits so that they can be used to send information over large distances. Quantum dots may help solve this problem, according to Petta.
“Imagine trying to communicate a message over a long distance by forming a line of people and having each person relay the message to the person in front of them,” he said in the email. “Using a photon, or light particle, to couple two quantum dots is analogous to directly flying the message from the first person in line to the last person in line.”
A paper describing the laser was published Jan. 16 in the journal Science.
Help The Blind Through Video Chat With This New App
A new app lets you — yes, you — help the blind see.
Copenhagen-based app Be My Eyes, which launched on Thursday, connects blind people and sighted people through their iPhones and iPads. Here’s how it works: If you’re blind, you can sign up for the service and reach out to sighted users through a live video connection on the app. Once connected, blind users can ask sighted users questions over video chat. If you’re sighted, you can sign up to help blind users.
If you’re a sighted user and you get a request, it will come through your phone as a push notification with a ringing sound. If you tap the notification, you’ll be connected and a video will pop up, showing whatever the blind user is filming. You’ll also be able to hear him or her speak and ask a question.
Sighted users might be asked to help navigate a new place, read a sign or label, or help in some other way. One example of how someone might use the app is to help distinguish between two cans of food:
iPhones and iPads have services built in to help blind users. You can use VoiceOver for iOS to get your iPhone or iPad to help you navigate your screen, type, read, use apps and more.
Since you’re connected to each other via live video, there are obviously some ways in which users could abuse the system. “Both the blind person and the sighted person are allowed to report each other for misuse,” Be My Eyes co-founder and CEO Thelle Kristensen told The Huffington Post in a phone interview on Friday. If you get reported enough times, you won’t be able to connect to anyone through the app anymore.
If you’re a sighted user and a notification appears but you don’t answer it, the request will simply go to someone else. As of now, there are currently more than 17,800 sighted people and 1,500 blind people using the app, according to the Be My Eyes website. More than 2,900 pairs of blind and sighted people have been connected so far.
“Not every helper has gotten a call yet,” Kristensen said. “We hope to see that picking up more and more.”
The entire service is free, and Be My Eyes is a nonprofit. It’s only available on iOS devices for now, but you can request to be notified when the Android app is available.
Be My Eyes – helping blind see from Be My Eyes on Vimeo.
This Challenge Will Determine the Fate of the World's Market Economies
PRINCETON, N.J. — A specter is haunting the world economy — the specter of job-killing technology. How this challenge is met will determine the fate of the world’s market economies and democratic polities, in much the same way that Europe’s response to the rise of the socialist movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries shaped the course of subsequent history.
When the new industrial working class began to organize, governments defused the threat of revolution from below that Karl Marx had prophesied by expanding political and social rights, regulating markets, erecting a welfare state that provided extensive transfers and social insurance, and smoothing the ups and downs of the macroeconomy. In effect, they reinvented capitalism to make it more inclusive and to give workers a stake in the system.
Today’s technological revolutions call for a similarly comprehensive reinvention. The potential benefits of discoveries and new applications in robotics, biotechnology, digital technologies and other areas are all around us and easy to see. Indeed, many believe that the world economy may be on the cusp of another explosion in new technologies.
The trouble is that the bulk of these new technologies are labor-saving. They entail the replacement of low-and medium-skilled workers with machines operated by a much smaller number of highly skilled workers.
To be sure, some low-skill tasks cannot be easily automated. Janitors, to cite a common example, cannot be replaced by robots — at least not yet. But few jobs are really protected from technological innovation. Consider, for example, that there will be less human-generated trash — and thus less demand for janitors — as the workplace is digitized.
A world in which robots and machines do the work of humans need not be a world of high unemployment. But it is certainly a world in which the lion’s share of productivity gains accrues to the owners of the new technologies and the machines that embody them. The bulk of the workforce is condemned either to joblessness or low wages.
Indeed, something like this has been happening in the developed countries for at least four decades. Skill and capital-intensive technologies are the leading culprit behind the rise in inequality since the late 1970s. By all indications, this trend is likely to continue, producing historically unprecedented levels of inequality and the threat of widespread social and political conflict.
It doesn’t have to be this way. With some creative thinking and institutional engineering, we can save capitalism from itself — once again.
The key is to recognize that disruptive new technologies produce large social gains and private losses simultaneously. These gains and losses can be reconfigured in a manner that benefits everyone. Just as with the earlier reinvention of capitalism, the state must play a large role.
Consider how new technologies develop. Each potential innovator faces a large upside, but also a high degree of risk. If the innovation is successful, its pioneer reaps a large gain, as does society at large. But if it fails, the innovator is out of luck. Among all the new ideas that are pursued, only a few eventually become commercially successful.
These risks are especially high at the dawn of a new innovation age. Achieving the socially desirable level of innovative effort then requires either foolhardy entrepreneurs — who are willing to take high risks — or a sufficient supply of risk capital.
Financial markets in the advanced economies provide risk capital through different sets of arrangements — venture funds, public trading of shares, private equity, etc. But there is no reason why the state should not be playing this role on an even larger scale, enabling not only greater amounts of technological innovation but also channeling the benefits directly to society at large.
As Mariana Mazzucato has pointed out, the state already plays a significant role in funding new technologies. The Internet and many of the key technologies used in the iPhone have been spillovers of government subsidized R&D programs and U.S. Department of Defense projects. But typically the government acquires no stake in the commercialization of such successful technologies, leaving the profits entirely to private investors.
Imagine that a government established a number of professionally managed public venture funds, which would take equity stakes in a large cross section of new technologies, raising the necessary funds by issuing bonds in financial markets. These funds would operate on market principles and have to provide periodic accounting to political authorities (especially when their overall rate of return falls below a specified threshold), but would be otherwise autonomous.
Designing the right institutions for public venture capital can be difficult. But central banks offer a model of how such funds might operate independently of day-to-day political pressure. Society, through its agent — the government — would then end up as co-owner of the new generation of technologies and machines.
The public venture funds’ share of profits from the commercialization of new technologies would be returned to ordinary citizens in the form of a “social innovation” dividend — an income stream that would supplement workers’ earnings from the labor market. It would also allow working hours to be reduced — finally approaching Marx’s dream of a society in which technological progress enables individuals to “hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner.”
The welfare state was the innovation that democratized — and thereby stabilized — capitalism in the 20th century. The 21st century requires an analogous shift to the “innovation state.” The welfare state’s Achilles’ heel was that it required a high level of taxation without stimulating a compensating investment in innovative capacity. An innovation state, established along the lines sketched above, would reconcile equity with the incentives that such investment requires.
© Project Syndicate
'In Dog We Trust' Rug's Pawful Mistake Will Benefit Charity
Pull out your checkbooks, animal lovers with uncovered floors: a Florida police agency’s famed, typo-afflicted “In Dog We Trust” rug is being auctioned off to benefit a local dog rescue group and sanctuary.
This fantastic rug came about by accident. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office paid American Floor Mats $500 for a rug that was supposed to proclaim confidence in a supreme being, instead of man’s best friend. (Another rug, ordered at the same time, was printed correctly.)
The mistake was discovered some months later, and the rug was ferreted out of sight — but definitely not out of mind.
Here’s the completely awesome auction listing:
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office will not “sweep anything under the rug.” Due to extensive interest regarding our plans for the “doggone” rug, you can bid on it here, and we will donate 100% of your bid to a local animal rescue.
(AP Photo/WFTS-TV/ABC Action News, Adam Winer)
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told a local ABC affiliate that since a reporter first noticed and tweeted about the misspelling earlier this week, his office has been getting calls from all over the world.
“The biggest concern I was hearing from people was, ‘Oh my God, don’t throw it away,” Gualtieri said.
Indeed. While the auction started at just $100, bids for the rug had already gone over $2,600 as of Friday afternoon, with all that money destined to help an area nonprofit called Canine Estates, Inc.
“We’re so excited,” Canine Estates’ founder Jayne Sidwell told The Huffington Post. “We need the funding so bad.”
Sidwell said that she thinks her group — which is currently caring for 30 dogs, with another 10 due in soon — was chosen because Gualtieri adopted a 13-year-old dog from them last year.
“Annabel Lee. A Maltese mix with an underbite. From what I understand, she and the Sheriff watch sports together,” she said.
The auction closes at 4 p.m. next Wednesday, Jan. 21 — which may well be your last chance at getting your hands (and feet) on this perfect piece of home decor.
An American Floor Mats customer service agent, who declined to give his name, said the company’s been “getting a lot of calls” about the rugs in the last couple of days.
Alas, those people are out of luck.
“I don’t believe we are going to be reproducing the mats,” he said.
You can bid on the In Dog We Trust rug at onlineauction.com, and find out more about Canine Estates on Facebook.
Get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you have an animal story to share!
New York Post, United Press International's Twitter Accounts Hacked
NEW YORK (AP) — Some Twitter accounts of the New York Post and UPI, as well as the news agency’s website, were briefly hacked Friday.
Tweets with false economic and military news were posted and then deleted.
One tweet on United Press International’s feed said that the Pope said World War III had begun. Another on the New York Post’s business section Twitter feed said that Bank of America’s CEO was calling for calm after a Federal Reserve decision.
The hack is being investigated, said Jenny Tartikoff, a spokeswoman for the Post. The New York newspaper is owned by News Corp.
In a statement posted to its website, UPI, based in Washington, said its Twitter account and website were hacked. Six fake headlines were posted to its Twitter account, and a “breaking news” banner with a fake story about the Federal Reserve was posted to its homepage until UPI’s technology support team shut down access.
It’s the latest hack of a high-profile social media account. The Twitter and YouTube accounts of the U.S. military’s Central Command were compromised earlier this week by hackers claiming to support the Islamic State militant group, and Crayola apologized for a hack of its Facebook page that filled it with sex jokes and other off-color content. During a 2013 hack, Burger King’s Twitter feed posted obscenities and put up McDonald’s logo as its profile picture.
More dangerous intrusions of companies and organizations are also on the rise. Just since fall 2013, hackers at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Target, Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase compromised those companies’ computer networks and gained access to confidential information about customers or employees. The hacks have exposed the lack of uniform practices for dealing with breaches.
The White House is pushing for new cybersecurity legislation that increases the sharing of information between U.S. agencies and the private sector and protects businesses from lawsuits for revealing cyberthreats.
Microsoft To Change Windows Insiders Terms After Windows 10 Event
Microsoft has sent out an email notice to all participants of the Windows Insider program that terms and conditions will be changing after next week’s Windows 10 event in Redmond. While no specifics were given in the email, members are encouraged to check the T&Cs page after the 21st for the new rules of engagement. It is yet another hint that the event next Tuesday is going to be huge with a lot of announcements and updates. All indications point to the Windows 10 event encompassing not only the desktop and tablet version but phone versions as well. It is
The post Microsoft To Change Windows Insiders Terms After Windows 10 Event appeared first on Clinton Fitch.
In Surprising Move, Sprint Endorses Net Neutrality
WASHINGTON — Sprint has come out in support of granting the government strong authority to enforce net neutrality, bucking the trend of cell phone carriers fighting efforts to keep the Internet free and open.
The Federal Communications Commission will vote on a net neutrality plan next month. President Barack Obama has urged the agency to reclassify consumer broadband under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, a move that would empower the FCC to block Internet service providers from charging for faster Internet access.
In a letter sent to the FCC on Thursday, Sprint Chief Technology Officer Stephen Bye wrote that the company “does not believe that a light touch application of Title II … would harm the continued investment in, and deployment of, mobile broadband services.”
“So long as the FCC continues to allow wireless carriers to manage our networks and differentiate our products, Sprint will continue to invest in data networks regardless of whether they are regulated by Title II, Section 706, or some other light touch regulatory regime,” the letter concluded.
This is a dramatic backtrack from what cell phone carriers have previously argued, namely, that a Title II net neutrality plan would devastate the economy and discourage investment in Internet services.
In 2013, Sprint’s CEO at the time, Dan Hesse, told The Verge that net neutrality was “a hard concept for me to get my head around. It’s like telling the airlines you can’t sell first class seats.”
Sprint’s position isn’t likely to jibe with Republicans who are reportedly planning to introduce legislation that offers significant concessions to net neutrality advocates, but would still bar Title II reclassification.
But Sprint’s letter is welcome news to net neutrality supporters.
“This is big news,” said Julie Samuels, executive director of Engine, which advocates for start-ups. “Every day it becomes more and more clear that the American public, and many of the companies driving the American economy, are ready to get behind a Title II regime.”
Marvin Ammori, a lawyer for the tech industry who supports net neutrality, told HuffPost that “an open Internet is good for all carriers and their shareholders,” and called Sprint’s position a “very enlightened, visionary move.”
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The Top 100 Most Social CIOs on Twitter 2015 [SLIDE DECK]
TOP 100 MOST SOCIAL CIOs on TWITTER 2015 – SLIDESHARE
100 Most Social CIOs on Twitter 2015 from Vala Afshar
The 2015 State of the CIO survey was recently published by CIO Magazine, noting that there’s still much more work to do gain respect. The survey noted that CIO compensation was rising ($234,830 in 2015) with 44% of CIOs reporting directly to the CEO. The suryey also indicated that only 13% of CIOs were viewed as ‘business leaders’ by peers from outside of IT. Only 30% of line-of-business leaders viewed the CIO as a ‘business partner’. The survey concluded by noting the significant C-suite perception gap that exists between business colleagues and IT – 54$ of line-of-business executives view IT as an obstacle to their mission (versus 33% of CIOs). One critically important way CIOs can improve the perception of IT and themselves is to adopt a more open, collaborative and accessible mindset. I have the privilege to collaborate with some of the most extraordinary CIOs in the world. These CIOs have achieved success largely to their willingness to collaborate and co-create value. Social CIOs are poised to successfully transform organizations and businesses by shifting the perceived IT culture of command-and-control to one that is collaborative and in support of co-creation of sustainable value.
Since I last published the most social CIOs of 2014 list , the role of the Chief Information Officer in leading digital business transformation has become even more vital. Championing adoption of new technologies requires CIOs to actively engage and communicate broadly. To stay informed, successful CIOs are leveraging social media as their personal learning networks. Most of the innovative CIOs that I work with are expanding their capabilities, as well as their organizations by 1. Independent research, 2. Peer collaboration via social networks and forums, and 3. Vendor and business partner engagements.
Here is the 2015 edition of the Top 100 Most Social CIOs. The ranking was determined by a combination of factors including twitter list memberships, tweet volume, number of followers, and other metrics as tallied by several social media influence scoring providers. On average, these CIOs are members of 180 lists with an average of 5,650 follower. Regarding the 2015 list, I have excluded several former CIOs who appeared on the 2014 list because they are no longer serving as active CIOs.
I invite you to join me in congratulating all of these must-follow social CIOs. Leading by example, all 100 CIOs understand, promote, and value the power of collaboration.
UK and US to stage 'cyber war games'
The UK and US are to stage cyber attack “war games” against Wall Street and the City of London in a new joint defence against hackers.
Email Spoofing: Explained (and How to Protect Yourself)
Recently a co-worker asked me “Why do people even bother to spoof my email address?”
First, for those of you joining me that have no idea what the term spoofing means – let us examine that.
Spoofing is defined as:
/spo͞of/
verb
1. imitate (something) while exaggerating its characteristic features for comic effect.
2. hoax or trick (someone).
Origin: late 19th century English comedian Arthur Roberts.
In the context of computers, to spoof one’s email address means that the sender is acting as if the email is coming from someone it is not.
How someone (or something) sends an email made to look like it comes from somewhere or somewhere it does not, is a little more technical to explain. So, if you don’t like tech talk, then skip to the next section “Why is my email address being spoofed?”
How are they spoofing me?
Spoofing email addresses is rather easy. All a person needs to spoof an email address is an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server (a server that can send email) and the appropriate email software. Most website hosting services will even provide an SMTP server in their hosting package. It is also possible to send email from your own computer