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July 19 2011

So Long, Farewell Unlimited Data

ie, Laptop, Latest News badwidth, cellular, Mobile, performance, tablets

The Death of Unlimited Data

They say all good things must come to an end. I suppose that’s true. Verizon has announced that it will no longer support an unlimited data plan. Verizon’s move follow in footsteps of AT & T, which eliminated it unlimited internet data plan last summer.

Mobile device purchases have steadily escalated over the last several years and constantly connected consumers are straining network capacities embracing cloud computing other services. This is especially true as the lines between device blur – phones like the T-Mobile My Touch can become a portable hotspot and share precious bandwidth with the masses. (A feature we happen to love.)

A study conducted by Nielsen last year indicated that smart phone data consumption averaged 300MB a month. However, Nielson did not exclude smartphone owners that did not use data services. Therefore, the statics are skewed slightly lower than the actual consumption rate for customers that use bandwidth.

Will It Spread?

It will likely only be a matter of time before all wireless carriers adopt a similar stance. The smart phone bandwidth usage graph looks like a steep isosceles triangle climbing with no end in sight.

graph, industry mb usage by percentile- smartphone only, so long unlimited data post

Nielson’s data shows data consumption increased from 90MB per month, during the first quarter of 2009, to 298MB per month the first 3-months of 2010 – a 230 percent. It is likely that cable companies and other telecommunications service providers that offer internet connectivity will use actions of wireless carriers as an example and endorsement. It would not be surprising if home providers introduce surcharges for “excessive” bandwidth consumption.

Users of all devices, mobile, desktop and others have demonstrated an all almost insatiable desire for bandwidth. How else will they watch essential content like a puppy wearing a moustache? At some point somebody somewhere is going to have to pay for the extra hardware and network services required to keep serving up these massive amounts of data.

Our lovely free ride on the bandwidth highway might be slowing to a halt.

July 6 2011

The Browser Smack Down: Which Is Most Secure

Browsers, Chrome, Firefox, ie, Latest News, Malware, Security

The Security Challenge

Who knew something as cute as a dancing squirrel could be so dangerous? Apparently not the 9 year old, that clicked on the impossibly cute link giving that new laptop something not so cute – laptop virus and the need for a malware removal service. Web browsing has become a fundamental activity in the average daily life of most of the U.S. population. It is so common many get a false sense of security and will read any email and click any link that appears recommended by a friend – making the environment an attractive target for the not so cute, distributers of malware. As of June of 2010, 77.3% of the U.S. population uses the internet, according to the United Nations technology agency ITU. Cheaper computers and expanded access to connections have driven growth in internet usage for the last decade.

internet browser usage chart, shows web browsing

Viruses, trojans and other dangerous malware are constantly attacking this large, diverse and growing set of users. Malware, an abbreviation of malicious software, exists for one reason, to do something bad. It may be an “annoying” bad or a “scary stolen identity and make life a nightmare” bad or somewhere in the middle. No matter what the intent, malware is in all cases bad; it is the number one risk to personal security online.

The first experience many have with malware is when it infects their computer by exploiting a browser weakness, browser plug-in or opening a hidden file and using a security hole in an application used to view the file, like Adobe Reader. Even users that think they visit only safe sites can be infected. Malware has been distributed to unsuspecting users on large popular sites, like Google, hidden in banner ads.

More Secure Browsers

In an effort to provide more protections to users, Mozilla Firefox 4, Google Chrome 10 and Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) updated security and privacy features. News and blog articles have already appeared announcing which browser has the best security in all the land. Which is the best? As with most things, it depends. Users will have to decide which features are most important based on how they use the internet and what information they wish to share. No matter which browser emerges as a personal favorite, the increased competition to improve protections is a win for all users.

Key new features include:

IE9, Chrome and Firefox added options for users to request that sites stop tracking what they do at other locations on the web as part of the do not track initiative. It’s kind of a do not call list for the internet. Users should be aware, however, that at this time, sites do not have to honor the settings

Chrome 10

The security sandbox, which isolates browser plug-ins from the rest of the computer, has been expanded to include the integrated Flash player so that malware embedded in Flash content can’t damage the computer.
Updated malware reporting. The browser also auto-blocks sites known to be performing unsafe activities like phishing or other malware attacks. Users can configure an add-on like the Web of Trust extension or a separate security program to block threats or Google’s embedded list.
Automatically disables old versions of plugins to prevent hacking
The account syncing feature, which syncs themes, preferences, auto-fill entries, extensions, and bookmarks with a Gmail account, has been updated with encryption and password protection.
Customizable privacy settings for items like cookies, image management, JavaScript, plug-ins, pop-ups, location information, and notifications

Internet Explorer 9

Allows Active X filtering so that Active X only executes on trusted sites.
The download manager has been integrated with malware protection. Some studies are reporting that the browser blocks about 99% of malware.

Firefox 4

Added a HSTS feature that can turn any site into a secured site (HTTPS). Now, even if the web being visited doesn’t encrypt content, the browser can.
Blocks malicious scripts from running
Modified the settings for visited links so that people walking by can’t easily see what links a users has visited

Have you started using one of the new browser versions? Do you feel they are more secure? Are there any features you feel should have been included? Let us know.

Is Google’s Cloud Computing Chromebook a Great Deal?

Browsers, Chrome, Cloud Computing, Latest News

Google has announced an enhancement to its already popular Google applications suite a cloud-based laptop developed in conjunction with manufacturers Samsung and Acer named what else – Chromebook. According to Google,

“You won’t have to wait minutes for your computer to boot and browser to start. You’ll be reading email in seconds.”

8 seconds actually, according to the product’s website. Who emails anymore? That’s a topic for another post.

The new offering from Google uses the company’s Chrome browser and Chromium operating system. Goggle, says the device can last an entire day on a single charge. An impressive feat and definitely one the that those tethered at an undesirable location with an electrical umbilical cord promising to complete one more blog post will welcome.

The device features:

Automatic software updates
Optional 3G with 100G data transfer
Built in security
Flash support
Cloud based storage

Chromebooks are expected to be available in the US, UK, France, Netherlands, Italy and Spain on June 15, and additional countries will follow. Google released Chromebook initially for students at $20.00 per month at last week’s Google I/O conference. Now the company has announced Chromebooks for Business and Education for $28 per user per month for businesses.

What Do You Mean Cloud Computing Isn’t Magic

Despite shouts of Windows killer and the end of the desktop. It won’t happen. It’s hype. A storm or a dead spot and the laptop is rendered unusable – although Google promises it will fix the issue soon. Aren’t these basically slightly fancier versions of 80’s style dumb terminals. Plus, Google’s cloud-based operating system is not the first cloud based version – at least 10 viable options exist and they have not managed to “change the game.” That spot currently belongs to the venerable all-star Apple iPad, which introduced a sexy form factor, and a unique browsing experience that has enticed millions of users to drop a grand on something nobody really needs.

However, at $20 a month, the Chromebook is not a significant investment and will likely entice many to at least try it out. Before renting the device, users may want to ask a few questions like:

Who will do customer service? Will customers be caught between retailers selling the device and Google to get answers?
How frequently can hardware be exchanged?
Who will fix the laptop should something go wrong?
What happens if your kid breaks the device?
What’s the privacy policy for information that is stored on Google’s servers?

We are not trying to be overly critical of the device. It might be awesome. Interested in taking a Chromebook for a test drive? The devices will be available at Amazon and Best Buy domestically starting next month. If you decide to invest, be sure to come back and let us know what you think of your new toy.

Related posts: Making the Shift to Google Photos

June 20 2011

Personal Cloud Computing: Own a Piece of the Cloud for a Low Price

Cloud Computing, Latest News, Personal Cloud

Cloud computing seems to be everywhere. It has spilled outside of company walls directly in the hands of individuals at an amazing pace. You don’t have to be a techie to be sucked into wanting it – enticed by commercials that beckon, “To the cloud!”

Even those that have managed to miss the marketing coverage might have experienced the cloud. Do you manage your finances at Mint.com? Have you used Facebook or Flickr? You’ve been to the cloud.

Now, vendors are focusing even more on individuals with the introduction of personal clouds. Personal clouds promise every day users the ability to store all of their “stuff” in the cloud. Files, photos, movies, music, financial data or other personal content can be warehoused in a personal cloud where the individual controls access. As far back as 2009, ancient in internet time, EMC’s CTO discussed personal clouds describing three essential features: control, convenience and permanent archive. Individuals with privacy concerns might immediately say something starting with “Big brother,” mumble a rant, and end with “everything about me.” However, pragmatically, a significant portion of individual personal data is already spread across multiple sites where it is even more difficult to monitor and control privacy and access.

Personal clouds come in multiple models. One model is the traditional remote hosting model where users upload files to a remote location manually or via synchronization. A second model reverses the original concept.

Instead of uploading and interacting with remote content, new cloud services like PogoPlug, Tonido and Iomega Personal Cloud allow PCs, smart phones, tablets and their applications to be accessible from everywhere over the internet. With these new cloud services, data never leaves the individual personal storage device and is only accessible by those invited into the user’s personal cloud.

What are the implications for personal computing? Substantial. Vendors offering products and services like hard drive backup, remote machine access and disaster recovery might soon find themselves competing, or unable to compete, with personal cloud products. Personal clouds make it possible for even the most unsophisticated users or small businesses to implement protections against losing valuable data and time due to a physical machine failure or software corruption. Further, as more and more mobile devices dominate the technology landscape, personal clouds could eliminate the need to copy media repeatedly between devices – store it once and access It everywhere.

The personal cloud is an exciting space, but it is far from mature. No standards exist for personal clouds, so the capabilities and technologies used across platform will vary significantly making it more difficult for users to move easily between personal cloud vendors. In spite of these challenges, personal cloud computing is likely to expand in adoption due to rapidly expanding feature set and because, well, it’s just cool.

June 13 2011

Access Your Documents Anywhere with Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing, Latest News, Personal Cloud Mobile

Free Your Documents From the Desktop

If you are anything like us, you have multiple devices. You might own a smart phone, a desktop, laptop, maybe an iPad, Android or other tablet – and are occasionally stuck in a situation where a document you need isn’t in the right place at the right time. It’s locked away at home or a laptop battery dies and you can’t retrieve it. In short, it’s annoying, and occasionally disastrous. What’s an alternative if you don’t want to carry around an external hard drive or USB device? Consider storing your documents online, that would be the cloud for the cool among you. Zoho, Google and other online productivity have features similar to very popular MS Office suite, but with additional features that help simplify your life.

Obviously, the big win with taking your documents online is that become instantly accessible from all devices, including your phone, anywhere you have an internet connection. However, that’s not the only improvement to how you work.

What else is useful?

You can translate your documents to other languages in Google Docs by going to the “Tools” menu, select “Translate Document” and a list of available languages is displayed.

Almost all of the tools make it easier for you to work on a document with other people by offering real time chat and collaboration. Many of the tools support other document formats including each other. So you don’t have to worry about being locked in if you decide to try out a service. In addition, concerns like software maintenance, computer spyware,

Are you a little skittish about giving up Office? Don’t be. Most of the tools let you store your Office documents as well.

To complete your newfound sense of device freedom, you might, want to head over to http://myfav.es/ to customize a portable start up page that is also accessible from anywhere you are connected. The startup page lets you access your favorite sites without all of those locally stored bookmarks (which happen to be stuck at home with your spreadsheet). The layout is minimal and MyFav.es requires no accounts.

Even Sweeter

Most online productivity suites are free or have a very low per user entry cost (e.g. $3.00 per user per month for Zoho standard)
Interestingly, on June 15th, Google will release a Netbook that starts at $20.00 per month for students. If you aren’t quite ready to buy the kiddos a laptop or iPad, it might be a viable alternative.

We will be giving it a test drive; will you?

June 7 2011

GoFlex Mobile Offers Data Storage & Can Extend Wireless Signal

Extend Wireless Signal, iPad, iPad 2, Latest News, Wireless

There are countless tablets on the market, but Apple’s iPad is just sexy. Apple’s iPhone and iPad make it easier than ever to stay in touch and share media on the go. Despite their appeal, they do come with challenges; expanding storage on the devices has been a nightmare – until now. It’s time for a little device hard drive recovery.

A Wireless Storage Option for iPad and iPod

iPad and iPhone owners that need to store everything and take it with them now have an option as sexy as the iPad itself. The Seagate GoFlex Mobile Satellite device gives users 500GB of extra data storage. The best part? It’s wireless. There is no need to carry around another cable or bastardize the sleek beauty of your device by being tethered.

You can download media via your Mac or PC, and then stream it to your iPad or iPhone. It supports streaming to as many as three iPads or iPhones at once. If that wasn’t enough, the device creates its own Wi-Fi connection, so you can stream videos and upload data to your iPad or iPhone no matter where you go.

Who doesn’t love that?

If you find yourself constantly running out of storage capacity on your iPad or iPhone, the GoFlex Mobile Satellite from Seagate might be for you. It eliminates the need for online data storage, and eliminates the need for a high-speed internet connection to stream videos from the Web. Seagate’s GoFlex Mobile Satellite even lets you share your documents with other Apple devices, and will automatically sync with your PC or Mac to keep all your files current.

The price? It starts around $200.00 – but for some it will be worth the investment. It comes with:

GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage device
USB 3.0 USM adapter with detachable USB 3.0 cable
Compact wall adapter with retractable pins
Compact car charger
USB to DC cable
Quick start guide
3 year limited warranty

The devices are available for pre-order now.

May 18 2011

Top 5 Tips for Epically Fast Web Browsing

Browsers, Chrome, Firefox, ie, Internet Explorer, Laptop, Latest News, Performance

We are certain that we’ve never heard anyone utter the phrase,

“You know I really enjoy seeing that little hour-glass when I browse the Internet.”

Users frequently visit multiple pages simultaneously spread across numerous windows or tabs to satisfy their fleeting web attention spans. Everyone has personal preferences for their browsing experience, but the desire to see more content more quickly seems almost universal. There are lots of reasons users could experience slow downs while browsing the web

Poorly designed sites
Limited bandwidth internet connections
Computer memory or performance constraints
Older browsers

With all of these possibilities, is there really anything the average user can do to improve the speed at which they experience the web? You can bet your bandwidth there are options. Read our tips below if you want to enjoy epically fast web browsing.

Use tabs instead of windows, but don’t get crazy. Almost all major browser versions support tabs. Using tabs provides a quicker web experience than pages because tabs allow users to locate and switch between content easily, while windows can become hidden or obstructed. Multiple tabs in one window is just easier. In addition, tabs in most browsers use fewer computing resources than opening a completely new browser window.

Tabs are a good thing, but, too much of a good thing can cause problems too. Opening too many tabs at once will slow down the browser. Excessive numbers of open tabs also adds clutter that can make it difficult to locate content.

Only install and activate a reasonable number of extensions. Browser extensions can provide valuable functionality that is not available out of the box in a browser. Helpful tools to support activities like blogging or looking up references. However, like with tabs, if browser extensions are not used in moderation, they can affect browser stability and performance.

Users should pick a few extensions that improve productivity most or that they use frequently, and remove all others to truly optimize the speed of web browsing.

Get a decent browser. Despite rants by technologists and campaigns by Microsoft to kill Internet Explorer, some users insist on continuing use of Internet Explorer 6. Just stop. Simply switching to a newer, faster browser will result in a dramatically improved browsing experience. This is even more true given the many performance improvements in recently released Internet Explorer 9, Google Chrome 10 and Firefox 4. The renewed interest and competition in performance has resulted in a new generation of much faster and lighter weight browsers that can benefit almost all users.

Quit downloading toolbars. The number of toolbars available for browsers has been growing like water logged Gremlins after midnight. Like excessive use of tabs and plug-ins, too many toolbars slow down browser performance and consume screen real estate. Toolbars can also make browsing slower by constantly sending and receiving data, reducing the amount of bandwidth available for legitimate uses. If users don’t absolutely require a toolbar, it should be removed immediately.

Learn keyboard shortcuts. This recommendation may not seem straight forward, but learning keyboard shortcuts can make it much faster to execute common actions like opening windows or switching between pages can go much faster when using a key stroke or two. Every browser has different shortcuts, but they are are easy to learn and make web browsing peppy.

Many other performance improvements and specialized tools could increase the speed of your browsing experience. However, these five quick and low-cost techniques are accessible by even the most non-technical user and provide an immediate impact. Try them out before purchasing the latest offering to “Speed Up Your Computer!” being advertised on that late night infomercial and let us know what you think.

May 8 2011

Samsung Laptops, Now New and Improved with Keyloggers…or Not

Computer Virus Removal, Laptop, Latest News, Malware, Security, Virus

Recently, technical blogs and Twitter feeds were full of rants about laptop manufacturer Samsung after Network World published an article with a shocking accusation; Samsung was distributing new laptops with a commercial keylogger installed. Keyloggers are malicious, secret programs used to capture everything typed on a computer, passwords, personal information – everything. In this case, the keylogger could also send the collected information to a third party without the knowledge of the user.

Collective outrage spread like a viral video across the web, complete with threats of a class action lawsuit and warnings that suggested Samsung was stealing passwords and capturing screen shots. The anger was understandable and even justified, except for one tiny detail, it wasn’t true. Queue dramatic music.

In the Network World article, a security consultant claimed to have found the commercial keylogger StarLogger installed on brand-new Samsung laptops after performing a virus scan. Mistake number one. The analyst reported that he confronted Samsung about the discovery, and that support personnel confirmed the company was aware of the software and even suggesting it was used to monitor machine performance. Mistake number two. Without confirming the findings with alternate virus scanners or another third party, the analyst published the story to Network World where chaos ensued. Mistake number three – the perfect trifecta.

Further examination found there was no keylogger; it was a false positive by the anti-Virus software. Samsung, who was shocked as the rest of us by the claims, immediately denied the accusation and began an internal investigation. The company has released an official statement that confusion occurred to control any residual damage. Continued exploration for the source of the Samsung employee who confirmed the existence of the keylogger found that call center employees had agreed with the analyst to end the call. The call center supervisor said that when the caller’s issue could not be resolved it was easier to agree and make up a reason that aligns with their theory.

This chain of events, while personally amusing, actually contains several lessons that can be beneficial to average computer users.

Virus and malware can affect even trusted companies and sites. You cannot assume safety. It is your responsibility to protect yourself from security breaches.
Keyloggers are a very dangerous form of malware. Users should ensure anti-virus programs or malware removal services have specific capabilities for identifying and disabling these dangerous programs.
Anti-virus software can be wrong. It can miss virus. It can create false reports. To minimize this possibility, you should keep your preferred anti-virus updated at all times.

It’s been quite an exciting week; too bad this didn’t happen on April 1^st.

Related posts: The Information Safety Net

April 25 2011

Amazon Cloud Drive: Cloud Computing for the Masses

Cloud Computing, Latest News, Personal Cloud, Security

Amazon has launched three new cloud computing services targeted at every day users: Cloud Drive and Cloud Player on Web and Android. The new services allow users to store music on Amazon’s cloud and access it from the web or using a smart phone. It’s like an iPod in the sky. Even if someone has never heard of cloud computing, they have heard of MP3s or have a song or 10,000 stored on their computer’s hard drive. Now, these users can get 5GB in free storage from Amazon and access music anywhere. It sounds too good to be true. Is it?

What’s is the Cloud Drive

Amazon Cloud Drive is a personal cloud service for storing personal files like music, pictures or documents. The Cloud Drive targets everyday users, unlike Amazon’s popular Amazon Web Services cloud platform. Using the Cloud Drive, or similar services, users can eliminate the need to constantly move and synchronize files between devices. Every user is eligible for 5GB of free storage just by signing-up. If 5MB isn’t enough, then users can purchase up to one terabyte of storage for $1.00 per GB per year.

Amazon is also apparently using the Cloud Drive to promote their music service. Users that buy an Amazon MP3 album, automatically receive 20GB of free storage for one year, and music purchased from Amazon doesn’t count against the storage limit. Once files are uploaded to the Cloud Drive, they can be downloaded or streamed back on most internet capable devices, which is almost everything these days.

The Cloud Drive Makes Everyone Happy, Except…

Amazon’s new Cloud Drive is likely to attract a lot of attention; the company does know a thing or two about attracting customers. However, not everyone is delighted with Amazon’s cloud merry-making. Amazon has not received permission from major Hollywood film studios and top record companies to store music and movies on the cloud. Hollywood is making it very clear that they believe current licenses do not allow for cloud distribution or storage, which means Amazon’s new services, violates their legal rights. Hurting the feelings of media elite like the RIAA, could be a costly move for Amazon, just ask LimeWire.

Privacy advocates are also raising red flags. In the Amazon Cloud Drive Terms of Use, users must grant Amazon rights to access files. In fact, users must give Amazon the right

“ to access, retain, use and disclose your account information and Your Files”

While most users probably didn’t take time to read the small print, many who did might be bristling at Amazon’s request for complete visibility. As more average users move from local computers and laptops to cloud storage, they will need to become conscience of exactly how the services they chose to use work. You wouldn’t want your impromptu performance of Great Balls of Fire last holiday getting into the wrong hands, would you?

April 11 2011

Malware Attack Spoofs Shipping Companies

Browsers, Computer Virus Removal, Latest News, Malware, Security

Apparently, there can be worse things in the mail than bills. This month multiple big-name shipping vendors have had their brands exploited and used in malware distribution schemes. We have written before about the security dangers of malware, and how even seemingly “safe” web destinations can harbor significant risks. This month our words of wisdom have again been validated, but we won’t say “I told you so,” at least, not again. Email is being used in all of the malware campaigns where DHL, USPS and FedEx branding is being to trick users into downloading and executing malicious files. The large number of Internet users that aren’t especially technically savvy will continue to make low-tech attacks attractive to criminals.

In the FedEx malware attack, recipients receive a letter that appears to announce the impending delivery of a package. However, the only thing that the email is actually signaling delivery of is the need for a computer virus removal service. The message with the subject “FedEx notification #random number” and the message:

Dear customer. The parcel was sent your home address. And it will arrive within 7 business day. More information and the tracking number are attached in document below. Thank you. © FedEx 1995-2011

includes attachments that when executed, attempt to download additional files and steal FTP credentials stored on the infected device.

Criminals in the DHL attack, also executed in March, used a similar technique to distribute their trojan, but apparently did not run spell-check before sending out their malware-laden spam.

In the United States Postal Service malware attack, the spam message appears to be a failed package delivery notification for express mail, with the subject “Post Express Information. Your package is available for pick up.” The message claims that an error in the shipping address caused the package to be returned to the post office, from where it can be retrieved. If users click on the attachment, they will definitely want to return the trojan and scareware that is installed.

Delivery notifications and similar techniques have been used previously in computer attacks. Users have to be aware that caution should be exercised with every link, even those that appear legitimate. How can you protect yourself? Install anti-virus and malware protection and make sure it automatically updates. Any content downloaded should be scanned with a virus scanner and malware protection should be kept current on all systems that access the Internet, including mobile devices.