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Google harnessing social in latest wave of search updates

Publié: février 17, 2011, 10:02pm CET par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Google is committing further to social search, and said Thursday that it would more tightly integrate results from its users' social circles. The Mountain View, Calif. search company first introduced the functionality two years ago in an effort to make results more personally relevant.
"As always, we want to help you find the most relevant answers among the billions of interconnected pages on the web," the company said in a blog post introducing the changes. "But relevance isn't just about pages -- it's also about relationships."
The way social search works is simple: Google uses information from your profile on the company's site and other social activities in an attempt to connect you with content produced by your friends. For example if you're searching for information on a vacation, and a friend has produced some type of content because they have visited that same location, it would be shown to you in the results.
No doubt Google is attempting to take advantage of the increasing popularity of social sharing. At first, the company only shared content that was provided to it through Google profiles -- now Google would pull from outside sources including Flickr, Twitter, Blogger and others.
Previously, these types of results were pushed to the bottom of the page. With Thursday's changes, that content is handled in the same way Google attempts to determine relevance for standard results. In addition, if content in results were shared by your friends through social networks like Twitter, Google would notate the result as such.
Users would have control over what information Google would be permitted to share with others. This would prevent the sharing of content with friends that you may want to keep private, Google said.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Five security backdoors every small business should shut

Publié: février 17, 2011, 7:59pm CET

By Robert Gorby

Corporate security is serious business, but what about small businesses? How do owners know if they're unconsciously leaving the backdoor open to cybercriminals? Monitoring for new and emerging threats is a daunting task, particularly when the small business owner wears a second hat -- IT manager. Cyberattacks come through a variety of channels. There are five backdoor entrances every small business should guard against.
Door #1: Social networks and community bad spirits. Most social networking activity is concerned with community spirit and sharing of a wide range of data including documents, music, video and links. The biggest problem here is trust. People trust people that they know, or that they think they know. This means that users are more likely to click an infected link if it comes from a trusted colleague or friend. Beef up your security policy. Only 23 percent of companies have any security policies in place that specifically addresses social media. Offer staff some guidelines to keep them and your company network safe.
Door #2: Instant messaging and spam chat. Viruses and other malware can be hidden in files sent via instant messaging. Introduce policies that educate and control the use of IM. One important step is to ensure that users' emails cannot be easily identified by their IM username; some IM services link your screen name to your email address when you register. Having your email address so readily available is likely to increase spam and phishing attacks.

Door #3: Insider threats right under your nose. While companies might rightly be concerned about outsiders breaking into their networks, employees pose a similar or even greater threat. Staff are in fact responsible for introducing the majority of malware onto company networks. You may want to consider running additional background checks on IT staff in responsible positions before hiring them. The best advice is relatively basic: trust your gut feeling, educate staff on keeping their data and network safe and enforce a robust internal security policy combined with a security audit.
Door #4: Loose remote control. While preventing staff from leaking malware into a business has its challenges, staff that are allowed to access the company network remotely are even harder to control. Employees who use their own machines for work increases the risk that malware may get inside the company network. An obvious way to close this security hole is to prevent staff from using their own machines.
There are other ways around this such as using virtualization technology to create a virtual safe-zone within your hardware, like an embassy in a foreign country. However, it is arguably simpler and more effective to establish a strong set of security controls that ensure all staff only use company hardware with antivirus controls and subject to updates and audit procedures.
Door #5: USB sticks and smartphones. USB sticks are particularly good at spreading malware. They appear innocuous compared to a laptop or smartphone but can hold several gigabytes of code, some of which may be malicious. Allowing employees an unchecked option to insert these devices into company computers is an unnecessary risk. Removable devices can be automatically checked using security software or users can choose to run a manual scan before accessing any of the files on the stick. Business owners should also create policies to keep personal and business drives separate on any machine.
Email-equipped smart phones poise similar risks to company networks as desktop computers. Smartphones can spread malware onto other susceptible devices on the network, and hackers have been known to use text messages to guide unsuspecting users onto websites containing infected code.
Robert Gorby is global head of Small Business Propositions for security vendor AVG.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
$200 million in U.S. broadband census data now free, open source

Publié: février 17, 2011, 6:04pm CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Thursday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released The National Broadband map, a staggeringly powerful free tool that gives anyone access to census-level data about broadband connectivity in the United States.
The map, which cost roughly $200 million to build, includes data from more than 25 million records, showing what types of broadband are available in all of the 50 U.S. states (FTTH, Docsis 3.0, Cable, DSL, Mobile, etc.), which companies provide service (and thusly where regional monopolies exist,) and the maximum advertised speeds. Users can then filter data by region, state, city, county, district, block, or even street address, or by regional and household demographic information. This data can then be plugged into the map's "analysis" feature, and compared with data from other areas.

Planning to move? You can input your address and compare it with other addresses to see how they stack up. With the open APIs, you can even build smartphone apps that do this for you.
Broadbandmap.gov hosts the map for standard consumer viewing, but it is also available as a downloadable package, and through open APIs for developers who want to build applications utilizing this precious data. All of the maps and site data were built by IT firm CompuTech with open source software like OpenGeo and WordPress, and map data is scheduled to be updated twice annually to keep figures current as the administration moves forward with the National Broadband Plan.
"This cutting-edge tool will continue to evolve with the help of new data and user feedback," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a prepared statement on Thursday. "It will provide consumers, companies and policymakers with a wealth of information about broadband availability, speeds, competition and technology, and help Americans make better informed choices about their broadband services."
The map is expected to go live on Thursday afternoon.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Even $600 is too much for many gadget geeks to pay for Motorola XOOM

Publié: février 17, 2011, 4:02pm CET par Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

Late yesterday I asked: "Would you pay $600 for the Motorola XOOM tablet?" Whoa, did you respond. Reaction is mixed, but those of you who own Android phones, particularly Motorola models, are more likely to answer "Yes." However, plenty of readers still wouldn't pay $600 -- for any tablet, and that includes Apple's iPad.
Quick recap: It turns out that earlier leaks about XOOM costing 800 bucks were true. That's for a model with 3G/4G radios and WiFi. Yesterday, Motorola revealed that a WiFi-only model would be available for only $600. Betanews readers reacted quiet negatively to $800 XOOM. So what about 600 bucks?
"I would most definitely purchase a WiFi-only Xoom for $600," Jonathan Farmer writes by email. "If that is indeed the price point, I'll be buying it sooner rather than later." Farmer is the kind of buyer who shows that tablets will cannibalize some PC sales. "I was going to buy a new laptop, but I really want to get into the tablet game. Right now I'm torrenting some stuff, twittering, emailing, and who knows what else on my EVO [smartphone]. I love Android, and I'm super excited to try out 3.0 without any stupid software added on top of the OS."
"Maybe," John Higham answers by email. "It has to seamlessly, and wirelessly, tether to the Android phone sitting in my pocket." I asked Higham which smartphone? "Mot Droid running Froyo. I have my $600 ready. :-)"
"A tablet/pad purchase is imminently in my future," Ashley Glenn writes by email. "It will most likely not be the XOOM. Don't get me wrong, it's an attractive piece of hardware. At $600, I expect more for my money than I'll probably get. The frustration of a locked-down device likely denied upgrades its first cousins will receive combined with the fact that all of my iPad-committed colleagues will have access to beneficial apps I'll likely never see leave me having to say 'No' to a really nice looking device."
Many Betanews readers who responded by email use Android handsets, which also means Google sync services. I asked Glenn how important are Google sync services -- contacts, calendar, bookmarks, etc. -- to him. "Google's sync services are heavily important but can be worked around. I have a ridiculously full plate -- husband, father, teacher, part-time IT, sound tech, chief union negotiator -- and connected services save my hindquarters on a regular basis. I'll be waiting out a WiFi iPad 2 (can't afford another data plan with child #2 on the way), so my phone will still be my communication and planning hub."
"I wouldn't even pay $600 for it," Brian Hilgefort writes via email. I would be willing to give up quite a bit. It's not that I don't want to pay a little more for something nice, it's the principle. Since people have gotten addicted to Android, it seems that they've left their values behind. I do not want something just because it's Android, I want something because it's personally valuable. My phone, for example, is stainless steel and glass. The Droid 2 came out and it was plastic. People still paid the money for a cheap toy. At least Apple doesn't give you a plastic copy. Not that I want to rant on about values, it's just a very important issue for me that others have forgotten. Oh yeah, even the Droid X is aircraft aluminum, and was only $200. Would you sell your soul for the next big thing?"
"Yes, I'd pay $600 for one," Betanews commenter ScottMD writes. "I'd pay $800 for one as well. Why? The specs are so far superior to the iPad. And again, it is all Apple's choices, ignoring the customer, and then the hamstrung app store. Closed OS." He observed how rapidly Android gained in the smartphone market, predicting tablets would follow similar pattern. "The iPad isn't a bad gadget, just underpowered and overhyped."
Even $400 is too much for Atom Smith to pay. "A decent netbook has utility far beyond any tablet -- WiFi, USB, keyboard. Add an air card and you have cellular data access and your still below $600. The only advantage that a tablet has is the physical functionality of its size and single piece design. It is no longer single piece when you install a cover. How about a netbook with a keyboard that folds back against the back side of the screen, with a touch screen for tablet functionality and a built in protector for the keyboard."
I asked Smith if he would buy an ebook reader, like Amazon's Kindle, which is more single-purpose, smaller and cheaper. "I have a Kindle 3G. I bought it for two reasons: 1) To see if I could reduce my paper consumption by downloading to the Kindle. 2) Reduce my physical book load and cost. The paper consumption hasn't worked because PDFs do not work well on a 3G."
Bobbrinksster comments: "For $600, the XOOM is a much better deal. I agree that the Apple IPad has way too many limitations and flaws at this point. Don't get me wrong, it's a really nice tablet but not for me. My initial turn off, besides the price, was the link to Verizon."
"I can wait, $600 is not compelling," Ivan Kirkpatrick writes by email. I still prefer a Chrome OS notebook, like Gogle is beta testing. My wife, who is a nurse, could probably get a lot of use out of a WiFi-only XOOM, assuming it has some apps she can use, since her facility is not WiFi enabled yet. At least it would connect fine at home."
Ken Dellinger writes about the $600 price: "I would buy it with a grumble. I just hope the WiFi version hits the shelves around the same time as the 3G." Like many other Betanews readers responding by email, Dellinger is a Droid user. I asked if there was one feature that drew him to XOOM. "Oh, hands down it's Honeycomb."
Betanews commenter Cloudy Weather's problem isn't price but Android fragmentation. "Android 3 is right around the corner, and nearly 42 percent of Android smartphones are still on 2.2 or earlier. The Android tablet market is likely to follow the same slow upgrade path and leave all users to only dream of having the latest version of the OS. I'm all for dreaming, I like dreaming, but not when it comes to timely upgrades of a smartphone or a tablet OS. Until Google and the carriers get their stuff together and tighten up the upgrade cycle, and stop stuffing devices full of crapware...there is zero chance I'll be using an Android device."
Betanews commenter TheMokoda isn't intimidated by $600 or even $800: "Is that too expensive? Yes, it is. Will the price be lower in a few months or a year? Possibly. Will there be something as good or better, possibly for less, 'right around the corner'? Possibly. Shouldn't I just wait for the iPad2? Maybe, but I don't want to...The few other tablets (Galaxy, et. al.) just don't have the specs/features I want. XOOM not only has the specs/features, but it's close enough to being here, NOW."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Norton 360 v5.0 launches with free web app-desktop gadget and Cybercrime Index

Publié: février 17, 2011, 3:14am CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The weakest link in any security strategy is human. No matter how good the technology, nothing creates risk like ignorance and naiveté. When Symantec released its Norton 2011 products back in September, the company spoke of "engendering goodwill" among potential customers with free tools to educate and protect their vulnerable systems. Today, concurrent with the release of Norton 360 version 5, the company made available yet another free tool to keep users aware of the ever-changing daily threat landscape.
The Norton Cybercrime Index, a free service, gives a daily snapshot of the most dangerous websites and the most hijacked search terms, as well as top scams, identity theft ploys and spam. The daily data from the Cybercrime Index can be viewed in a Web portal, on a mobile site, or as a free desktop gadget for Windows 7 and Vista. The main tool is a daily risk level meter similar to the Department of Homeland Security's threat advisory level.
Today, for example, is an 82 on the Norton Cybercime Index, which falls closer to the historic low of 57. The historic high, by comparison, is 179, which occurred in late December, because of a seasonal increase in identity theft and fraud.
The service includes a daily list the most malware-ridden sites, the top malware vectors, the most hijacked search terms (today's top is "translator,") the top spam categories, the volume of spam, categories most subject to fraud and ID theft, and a list of recent incidents of ID theft with detailed descriptions.
The daily risk level is determined by information from Symantec's Global Intelligence Network, which monitors more than 130 million servers and pulls data from ID Analytics and the Open Security Foundation's DataLossDB. All this data is then plugged into an algorithm that assigns values to the number of online threats every day.
Symantec benefits two ways from the new free tools. Education and information -- awareness -- are important malware-fighting tools. The company also can build goodwill, particularly among users who complain about system performance after installing Norton security software. Mike Williams, writing for Software Crew, calls out "a report released today by benchmark authors PassMark Software" that suggests the criticisms may be overblown. He writes:
The company pitted Norton 360 v5.0 against other big security suites from McAfee, Kaspersky, BitDefender and Trend Micro, testing them on a range of performance metrics: scan speeds, installation size, how they affected boot time, browsing performance, file management, application installations, network throughput, and much more. And Norton 350 v5.0 came top, thanks to high scores in most areas, including being around 19% faster at scanning than the nearest competitor.
Last month, Dennis Technology Labs tested the effectiveness of 11 top security suites, and Norton 360 v5.0 was the only one to achieve 100-percent accuracy, detecting all 50 threats.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
GOP looks to overturn FCC's net neutrality rules

Publié: février 17, 2011, 12:21am CET par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Fresh off their increased majorities in Congress, the GOP is setting its sights in the FCC controversial net neutrality rules as its next target. Forty Republican senators led by Commerce committee ranking member Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas as well as two Republican House members are spearheading a repeal effort.
The Congressional Review Act, passed in 1996, allows Congress to review the rulemakings of government agencies and overturn them if need be. Of course since this is a legislative procedure, any effort would require President Obama's signature or lacking that a two-thirds majority in either legislative body to override a veto.
Since Democrats are by and large in favor of regulation, and the party holds a majority of the Senate, the resolution is likely to die on the Senate floor before reaching the President's desk. One thing does work in the GOP's favor there -- resolutions brought up under this act are considered "privileged," meaning only 30 signatures will force a vote.
So far, Hutchison's effort has 40.
Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) held hearings Wednesday to question the FCC commissioners on the rules. When the FCC passed the rules in December, it was a split vote at 3-2 in favor. Thus the responses of the commissioners to the Representatives' queries were likely as varied.
"From the Internet's inception we have taken a hands-off approach," Walden said in a statement. "Changing direction now will only harm innovation and the economy." He urged fellow Senate and House members to join his and Upton's effort to overturn the new policies.
There are other efforts to either overturn or change the FCC's policies in both Congress and the courts. Most notably, Verizon sued the FCC last month challenging the FCC's authority to regulate the Internet. Some Democrats aren't exactly 100% happy with the polices as is now, Senators Maria Cantwell and Al Franken introduced a bill to strengthen them.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Does your computer measure up to thousands of others? Geekbench has the answer

Publié: février 17, 2011, 12:12am CET

By Mike Williams

Does your computer feel tired, slow -- is a poor performer? Or have you tweaked, tuned and optimized your system so much that you're sure it's delivering the best possible speeds? Whatever you think of your PC's performance, there's only one way to get a solid and objective view of its speed, and that's by using an excellent benchmarking tool like Geekbench.
Launch the program, click the "Run Benchmarks" button, and Geekbench will run some exhaustive tests on your CPU and RAM's performance, before producing a detailed report with all the figures you need.
Click the "Submit" button, create a free account with Geekbench (if you haven't already done so) and log in, then click the "Similar Systems Link." And in a second or two you'll see a chart comparing your result with other Geekbench users. Our test system (the red dot) was just above mid-range for its processor speed, so no real problems there. If your system scores are on the low side, though, that may be an indicator that it's not configured properly, so it could be worth checking your system settings for possible problems.
This won't tell you everything, of course. Geekbench only measures CPU and RAM performance, so if you have a bottleneck elsewhere -- a slow hard drive, say -- it won't be able to help.
Still, this is a useful way to get an objective view on how your PC's performance compares with others. And if you'd like to benchmark other areas of your PC, then you can always try something like SiSoft Sandra 2011 or AIDA64, which are able to test the speed of your hard drive, removable storage, file system, video rendering and network performance, along with many other details.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010