I may start surfing with Chrome…

I won’t use Google’s Chrome browser; but this headline has me considering switching to it. (I hope the other browsers will do the same.)

* Google boots China’s main digital certificate authority CNNIC

“Google says a future update in Chrome will remove trust for all certificates from China’s main root certificate authority.” Read more..

And yet more good news:
* Inexpensive table-top robots will disrupt light manufacturing

“Collaborative robots for light industry are coming along at precisely the right moment. They’re primed for quick adoption, and that means big changes for small- and mid-sized manufacturers.” Read more..

[ .. I think “disrupt” has now come to mean “eliminate all jobs”. ]

* Lebanon Believed Behind Newly Uncovered Cyber Espionage Operation

“Middle East, US, and other targets hit in nearly three-year-old ‘Volatile Cedar’ cyber attack campaign.” Read more..

Best for last * Healthcare Is Ignoring Cyber Risk Intel, Academia Even Worse

“For all of 2013 and 2014, the healthcare sector was abuzz with cyber activity invisible to most. As the weeks rolled by, the cyber event data collected and analyzed by our analytic data warehouse increasingly brought an image into sharp focus — and it was beginning to look a lot like an active radar console of the skies over Iraq circa 1991.” Read more..

*     *     *

Today’s quote: “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” ~ Andy Rooney

Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Android Games and Apps Giveaway

For a limited time, Amazon is giving away some paid apps for free.

click on image

which may be worth a look-see. Click on the image to see today’s batch of freebies. (There’ll be a different assortment each day of the giveaway.)

* Someone told me today is the first day of Spring.
Which, if it’s true, is good news to me.
And I always vote For good news.

This Just In: China reveals existence of cyber warfare hacking teams

“The country has finally admitted to the existence of units dedicated to cyber warfare.” Read more..

[May as well admit it. There’s no one who didn’t already know …] [Still, an important read.] [And in this case, “cyber warfare” includes espionage.]

Today’s quote: “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” ~ Dave Ramsey

Paul’s Tip: Don’t be like that. Be smart.

Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Facebook (and more)

Here are a few items worthy of your consideration.

* Facebook: Unethical, untrustworthy, and now downright harmful

“News of Facebook experimenting on its users’ emotional states has rattled everyone. Worse, the tool used to perform the experiments is so flawed there’s no way of knowing if users were harmed.” Read more..

[ Yet again, I’m reminded how glad I am that I’ve  never touched Facebook… ]

* Do you have one of those “fitness” doodads? The scary truth about data security with wearables

“Data brokers collect data from numerous sources for everyone in the US. It is alarming how much data is collected and the potential for security breaches, particularly from wearable devices.” Read more..

* How to Block Online Tracking

“Many sites track user behavior using a variety of invisible third-party software. This means any time you visit a Web page, you’re likely sharing data about your online habits, from clicks to views or social shares, whether you realize it or not. But there are a few ways to combat online tracking—although none can block some of the more sophisticated tracking techniques, such as “fingerprinting” and “onboarding.” Here are three tools that block the most common trackers.” Read more..

So.. you want a career in IT?

* Chinese Hackers Target Logistics & Shipping Firms With Poisoned Inventory Scanners

‘ZombieZero’ still actively pushing rigged handheld scanning devices, reviving concerns of doing business with Chinese tech companies.” Read more..

[ “Concerns”??? How asleep-at-the-switch are people?
Related: Oculus Suspends Oculus Rift Dev Kit Sales in China

“An undisclosed amount of reselling has forced Oculus to suspend sales of its Oculus Rift dev kits in China.” Read more..

Someone at Oculus there may do well to look up the term “reverse engineering” too..]

* 8 Geeky Summer Projects to Keep Kids Busy

“These projects will keep you and your kids entertained this summer.” Read more..

Today’s quote: “The Paradoxical Commandments:

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.” ~ Kent M. Keith

Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)

Net Nuetrality, and other tidbits

Feels like Monday…

* The FCC’s Net neutrality plan is much worse than it looks

“Under the new proposal, ISPs will be slower to upgrade their networks and will find it easier to exploit customers on both ends.” Read more..

I hope you’re not surprised… * China accuses Cisco of supporting US cyberwar efforts

“China is attacking secret surveillance programs of the U.S. government with harsh words from its state-controlled press, accusing Cisco of helping the U.S. in cyber espionage.” Read more..

* IE8 zero-day vulnerability unpatched for months, possibly millions at risk

“An unpatched zero-day use-after-free remote code execution vulnerability affecting Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) was publicly disclosed on Wednesday by the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) because it has been more than six months since the flaw was initially reported and Microsoft has yet to issue a fix.” Read more..

[Please understand, one shouldn’t get too sore at MS for this, as a better question is, “why is someone using an obsolete version?”] (Some might argue a better question is, “why is someone using Internet Explorer at all?)

Follow up: The eBay data compromise: What you need to know

“eBay has joined the elite list of companies that have lost members’ personal information. Learn how that affects you personally.” Read more..

Bah. That’s enough for today.

Today’s quotable quote: “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” ~ Jim Rohn

Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)

Wrapping up the week

(And a fun video, for balance)

Here are a few interesting headlines, for your consideration.

The ‘Nemanja’ POS malware is being used to steal payment cards in a worldwide campaign.

* ‘Nemanja’ POS malware compromises 1,500 devices, half a million payment cards, worldwide

“As many as half a million payment cards used in hotels, grocery stores and other business around the world – including in the U.S. – have been compromised by ‘Nemanja,’ a recently discovered piece of malware that has infected nearly 1,500 point-of-sale (POS) devices.” Read more..

* For sale: alleged dump of 145M eBay user records

“An alleged dump of eBay user records has been made available for purchase, a day after officials at the popular auction and shopping website made the announcement that a breach occurred sometime between late February and early March.” Read more..

Apparently, a copy of such a list is worth $700.

* HP To Eliminate Up To 16,000 More Positions

“The additional cutbacks come on top of the 34,000 positions that HP was eliminating in connection with a multiyear restructuring plan that was outlined in May 2012.” Read more..

.. so.. you want a career in tech?

* Surface Pro 3: The tablet that can replace your laptop

“Microsoft has had some problems framing the marketing for the Surface tablets, but “The tablet that can replace your laptop” tagline nails it.” Read more..

[Just one problem.. it’s not exactly true. {More true than with an iPad, tho.}]

* State-Owned Chinese Firms Hired Military Hackers for IT Services

“The DOJ’s historic indictment provides some rare insight into China’s cyber espionage operations.” Read more..

Saving the best for last department: How to lie, cheat and steal like Snapchat — all the way to the bank

“Two weeks ago the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement agreement with Snapchat, formally acknowledging the app lied about user privacy and security, and took user data without consent.
The great thing about users is that you can do anything you want to them, and they can’t refuse. ¹

Snapchat collected the contents of user address books without their consent, and its privacy policy flat-out lied about collecting a user’s location information. Snapchat secretly collected the private user information and shared it with unknown parties. Snapchat promised users their photos disappeared “forever” — an impossible promise that exploits a populace not fully educated about mobile technology’s functions and implementations.” Read more..

Saddest part is (it sure seems to me), the people who use Snapchat couldn’t care less about such things.

¹ Anyone using, or thinking of switching to, a “subscription service” should think about that fact …

Today’s quote: “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” ~ Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)

Welcome to the New Cold War

Folks, this article not only should be read by everyone, but ‘forwarded’ to all your friends and family. The news is that big. This is definitely something to be aware of, and to pay attention to.

* U.S. charges Chinese military group with cyber espionage

“The U.S. made a rare move to pursue foreign government employees by charging five Chinese nationals with committing economic espionage against Westinghouse, Alcoa , the U.S. Steelworkers’ Union and other large U.S. companies and organizations, in a move that serves as a warning and a wakeup call for both state-sponsored hackers and the companies that they attack.” Read more..

This is a monumental change. It has been patently obvious – to those who pay attention to such things – that for years China has not been “playing nice” (some would say, has been waging cyber war, if not mere cyber espionage/theft), but that they’ve enjoyed a kind of tacit immunity, because they own all our money, and build all our devices.. and we (think we) want access to that vast market.

Why is this so important? “It’s possible this could cause a Virtual Cold War between the world’s biggest economies, with wide-ranging impact on the entire planet.”

Again, read the article, here.

Maybe… we’ll have to start making our own stuff again…

A wee bit of good news: Historic global cyber crime bust takes down ‘BlackShades’ users

“An FBI-led investigation involving law enforcement agencies in 17 countries has led to one of the biggest cyber crime busts in recent history.” Read more..

Yes. History is being made …

Today’s quote: “The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch.” ~ Jim Rohn

Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)

If you build it, they will come

lapel-pin-US-flag

An item for you thinkers out there..

* Cryptocurrency mining malware discovered on surveillance DVRs

“Johannes Ullrich, dean of research with the SANS Technology Institute, posted on Monday that DVRs made by Hikvision, a video surveillance products and solutions supplier headquartered in China, were found to contain malware that mined for Bitcoins.” Read more..

What are the implications here?

(Puts a twist on the meaning of “Made in China” a bit, too, doesn’t it? But you should know that already: remember the “infected digital picture frames” [circa 2008] ? )

*     *     *

Other tech: What you should know about Windows 8.1 Update

“The soon-to-be-released Windows 8.1 Update brings minor improvements that favor those using a mouse — in other words, most Win8 users.

Anyone currently on Windows 8.1 will want the update; those who still haven’t made the Modern plunge won’t be impressed.” Read more..

[ This actually does eliminate my main beefs about Win8. But I won’t be switching – it’s Win 7 for me still.]

Today’s free software:  IObit  PCtransfer

“To find a best solution to safely and thoroughly transfer data for XP users, IObit newly releases PCtransfer. It is a free, light, and portable data transfer tool that provides users with an easy and secure way to backup and restore data with one click. PCtransfer especially supports bookmarks and favorites backup on Internet Explorer 6 and 7, and also allows user to quickly select and backup the third-party programs and settings. PCtransfer not only helps user to transfer data from Windows XP system to new systems but also provide assistance to users for moving data to a new PC.”

Today’s quote: “The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.” ~ B. F. Skinner

(I think he meant “humans”, or “people”, but..)

Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

---

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)