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iPad Pro's fatal flaw [fifth in a series]

Publié: février 15, 2016, 11:13pm CET par Joe Wilcox
I cannot presently recommend Apple's big-ass tablet as a laptop replacement—using the official-issue Smart Keyboard. The reason may surprise you. The foible isn't the utility of iOS, available apps, or overall hardware performance but the battery and charging system. Inadequate combination is an understatement.

Two weeks ago, I purchased iPad Pro through T-Mobile's Jump On Demand program. My 13th day using the tablet as my primary PC progresses with acceptance that an ongoing problem is a deal breaker. When I use iPad Pro like a laptop, even primarily working only with mail and two browsers (Chrome and Safari), battery burns down too rapidly and subsequent topping off takes too long. Oddly, battery-life is exceptionally good for tablet use.

With Smart Keyboard attached, I can deplete iPad Pro's battery in about four hours, while recharging takes six or more hours. More disturbing: When plugged into the Lightning cable and 12-watt brick, and in-use. the tablet typically reaches a steady-state where the battery charges little to not at all. Yesterday, I got the thing from 14 percent to 100 percent in under 5 hours by powering off and detaching the accessory.

The fundamental problem might be partly remedied. Apple's 12-watt charger is insufficient for the 10,307mAh battery. But the device is capable of 29 watts with right brick and Lightning cable, neither of which the company offers. A bigger brick wouldn't increase battery life, but it should substantially reduce recharge time and make more feasible using the tablet when plugged into electrical outlet.

Restated, there are three related problems with the current configuration:
- Battery depletes too quickly with Smart Keyboard attached
- Little to no recharging occurs when tablet is used with keyboard
- Recharge time takes too long, particularly set against actual usage time
For nearly two weeks I've limped along using iPad Pro as much as possible as my primary PC, but shifting back to laptop when the battery depletes. I have tried working with the tablet plugged into power, but there's something disconcerting watching the charge percentage go down, which can't be good for the battery.

Tablet experience is quite different, however; the overall UX surpasses iPad Air 2. Battery blows past a full waking workday of use, and is easily replenished overnight. The 12.9-inch display delivers content consumption wallop. Now that I'm more accustomed to the size—305.7 x 220.6 x 6.9 mm (12 x 8.68 x .27 inches)—content consumption benefits are better appreciated. Finally, I can read magazines as full page, without pinching to zoom text, for example.

I will have much to say about content consumption and apps usage in a follow-up post. Teaser: Apple's News app is transformative on this tablet like no other or from any competing software-service.

If big is your thing, iPad Pro is a fabulous tablet. But the battery/charging system limits use as a laptop replacement, and that's ignoring other gotchas to be discussed later.

This post is the fifth in a series; Parts One, Two, Three, and Four.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox
iPad Pro's fatal flaw? [fifth in a series]

Publié: février 15, 2016, 11:13pm CET par Joe Wilcox
Editor's Note: Apple contacted me on February 16th, suggesting the short battery life is abnormal. We discussed tech support option but I chose instead to replace the whole kit—iPad Pro and keyboard—to see if the short battery life with Smart Keyboard is a one-off hardware problem. Look for an update in the sixth post. The hardware exchange will take a day or so to sort out, before the series can resume.

Original Post: I cannot presently recommend Apple's big-ass tablet as a laptop replacement—using the official-issue Smart Keyboard. The reason may surprise you. The foible isn't the utility of iOS, available apps, or overall hardware performance but the battery and charging system. Inadequate combination is an understatement.

Two weeks ago, I purchased iPad Pro through T-Mobile's Jump On Demand program. My 13th day using the tablet as my primary PC progresses with acceptance that an ongoing problem is a deal breaker. When I use iPad Pro like a laptop, even primarily working only with mail and two browsers (Chrome and Safari), battery burns down too rapidly and subsequent topping off takes too long. Oddly, battery-life is exceptionally good for tablet use.

With Smart Keyboard attached, I can deplete iPad Pro's battery in about four hours, while recharging takes six or more hours. More disturbing: When plugged into the Lightning cable and 12-watt brick, and in-use. the tablet typically reaches a steady-state where the battery charges little to not at all. Yesterday, I got the thing from 14 percent to 100 percent in under 5 hours by powering off and detaching the accessory.

The fundamental problem might be partly remedied. Apple's 12-watt charger is insufficient for the 10,307mAh battery. But the device is capable of 29 watts with right brick and Lightning cable, neither of which the company offers. A bigger brick wouldn't increase battery life, but it should substantially reduce recharge time and make more feasible using the tablet when plugged into electrical outlet.

Restated, there are three related problems with the current configuration:
- Battery depletes too quickly with Smart Keyboard attached
- Little to no recharging occurs when tablet is used with keyboard
- Recharge time takes too long, particularly set against actual usage time
For nearly two weeks I've limped along using iPad Pro as much as possible as my primary PC, but shifting back to laptop when the battery depletes. I have tried working with the tablet plugged into power, but there's something disconcerting watching the charge percentage go down, which can't be good for the battery.

Tablet experience is quite different, however; the overall UX surpasses iPad Air 2. Battery blows past a full waking workday of use, and is easily replenished overnight. The 12.9-inch display delivers content consumption wallop. Now that I'm more accustomed to the size—305.7 x 220.6 x 6.9 mm (12 x 8.68 x .27 inches)—content consumption benefits are better appreciated. Finally, I can read magazines as full page, without pinching to zoom text, for example.

I will have much to say about content consumption and apps usage in a follow-up post. Teaser: Apple's News app is transformative on this tablet like no other or from any competing software-service.

If big is your thing, iPad Pro is a fabulous tablet. But the battery/charging system limits use as a laptop replacement, and that's ignoring other gotchas to be discussed later.

This post is the fifth in a series; Parts One, Two, Three, and Four.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox
What you need to know about biometric security

Publié: février 15, 2016, 9:10pm CET par Barclay Ballard

Generally speaking, biometrics refers to the measure or statistical analysis of a person’s physical or biological characteristics. However, increasingly the term is being defined more narrowly, at least in a business context, to refer to biometric security.

Although passwords can be guessed and network vulnerabilities exploited, overcoming biometric security protocols is significantly more challenging. For example, how would a cybercriminal go about duplicating a fingerprint or an iris scan? As a result, the unique aspects that make up our physical features are increasingly being utilized for authentication methods by businesses all over the world.

Common Implementations

The fact that biometric technology is increasingly finding its way into the business environment should perhaps come as little surprise given recent developments in the consumer space. The use of biometrics within smartphones, for example, will certainly help encourage mainstream acceptance of the technology.

New models of Apple's iPhone as well as an increasing number of Android handsets now include fingerprint scanning technology. Dan Bachenheimer, director at Accenture Public Safety, believes that developments such as these will help to drive biometric adoption.

"With advances in biometric technologies and improvements in IT infrastructure, there is a growing acceptance of biometric recognition technologies in our daily lives, and this acceptance will grow further with time", Bachenheimer explained. "Today, the use of biometric technology on smartphones and other consumer devices has bolstered public acceptance and familiarity with the technology far more than any previous industry deployments combined".

In fact, Juniper Research recently estimated that 770 million biometric authentication applications will be downloaded each year by 2019, representing a significant increase from the six million downloaded in 2015. Some businesses are already embracing biometric security and we’ve listed the common implementations below:

1. Fingerprint scanning. Fingerprint scanners are already being implemented by businesses to improve authentication and security. In order to work, the scanner must have a pre-scanned image of the authorized fingerprint, so that it can carry out a comparison.

In order to allay privacy concerns, however, fingerprint scanners do not store actual fingerprint images. Instead unique characteristics of the fingerprint are analyzed and stored as an encrypted mathematical representation.

Similar technology is also being trialled by Barclays bank in the form of a finger-vein ID reader. This takes an infra-red scan of the customer’s unique vein pattern in order to verify their identity. Eventually, this could see authentication methods like PIN codes and passwords abandoned. The system has already been trialled in Poland and there’s no need to worry about any grisly criminal activity as the scanner only works with a live finger.

2. Iris scanning. As an alternative to fingerprint recognition, iris scanning is also being employed by businesses to deliver a faster, more secure form of authentication.

Although banking trials have been implemented, the technology is also being utilized by the United Nations’ refugee program. Iris scanning is used in ATMs, banks and airports across the Middle East, so the technology is helping the UN to process refugees more efficiently and crack down on aid money fraud.

Aside from security, biometrics are being used to create other business advantages. Some organizations have begun using the technology to prevent time loss, for example, making it more difficult for employees to fake being at work.

Employees sometimes ask colleagues to sign them in and out of work fraudulently, which can add up to significant losses for their employers. This has led some companies to use biometrics to verify employee presence. The use of a fingerprint scanner, for example, can give businesses a more accurate representation of attendance.

Although using biometrics in this way can give businesses more control, they should be wary against creating an atmosphere of mistrust. If organizations do go down this route, they should be upfront about their reasoning or employees could feel as though they are under constant surveillance.

The Changing Nature of Security

One of the other reasons that biometrics have seen greater uptake is because of changing attitudes towards security. People expect to be able to access highly important information and services securely wherever they are. Having all your company data stored on an internal server that is locked away in a maximum security vault may be difficult to infiltrate, but it is also practically useless.

And yet at the same time, high-profile security breaches will simply not be tolerated by investors, partners or customers. And so we come back to the same old balancing act between utility and security. For businesses, biometrics could provide a valuable tool to help them manage this challenge

However as with any new technology, organizations should carefully consider whether biometric security is right for them. For example, the technology does have some disadvantages in its current state.

Firstly, there is the question of accuracy. Studies indicate that the majority of fingerprint scanner have an error rate of around one to three percent. Even for more accurate devices, cultural inertia could see the technology considered less trustworthy than more traditional security methods.

What’s more, some biometric identifies can change slightly over time, meaning that the technology will have to be reconfigured. These may not be major issues, but considering that biometric technology will require time and financial investment, it is easy to see why businesses may not be ready to get onboard.

Trust issues are also likely to abound as well. Whereas employees are unconcerned about handing over a password to their employer, giving them more personal information such as their fingerprint raises more fears. Even though the technology does not store actual fingerprint images, worries surrounding identity theft and privacy are likely to remain for the foreseeable future.

That being said, there are many advantages to biometric technology, particularly in the field of business security. Although criminals can lie about who they are, or steal an identification pass, mimicking a unique fingerprint or iris pattern is, at the moment at least, much more difficult. As long as that remains the case, businesses hoping to safeguard their sensitive data will look at biometrics as a viable option.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo Credit: Johan Swanepoel/Shutterstock
How to find and buy the ever-elusive $5 Raspberry Pi Zero

Publié: février 15, 2016, 8:59pm CET par Wayne Williams

The Raspberry Pi Zero is incredibly hard to get hold off. Hardly surprising, when you consider its $5 asking price.

Retailers such as The Pi Hut do replenish their stocks on a semi-regular basis, but even so you’ll have to act fast as even with a one-per-customer restriction in place, they sell out again almost immediately. Fortunately, there is a clever way to find out where the Pi Zero is in stock.

Find My Pi takes the leg work (or rather the mouse and keyboard work) out of finding out where the Pi Zero is available.

It regularly checks for stock at all of the major suppliers -- Raspberry Pi Swag Store, Pimoroni, The Pi Hut, Adafruit, and element14 -- and tells you if there are any Pi Zeros available.

The chances are all of the stores will be reported as out of stock but check back regularly and you might just get lucky.
IT security experts are confident they can spot a data breach

Publié: février 15, 2016, 8:13pm CET par Sead Fadilpašić

A new study by security firm Tripwire says IT security experts are very confident they can detect a breach, and that they can detect it quite fast. For automated tools, they do not share the same levels of confidence.

The survey questioned 763 IT professionals in various verticals, including retail, energy, financial services and public sector organizations in the US, about the seven key security controls that need to be in place in order to quickly spot an ongoing hack attack.

The seven key controls, which are required by security regulators, are PCI DSS, SOX, NERC CIP, MAS TRM, NIST 800-53 and IRS 1075. These controls also align with US-CERT recommendations and international guidance such as the Australian Signals Directorate’s Strategies to Mitigate Targeted Cyber Intrusions.

The company said the majority of respondents answered with confidence, saying they could detect a data breach. However, they weren’t sure how long it would take automated tools to discover some of the key indicators.

The key question revolved around the detection of unauthorized configuration changes, as that is, according to Tripwire, the "hallmark of malicious covert activity".

When asked how long it would take automated tools to detect unauthorized configuration changes to an endpoint on the organization’s network, 67 percent could not be precise or did not use such tools at all. Still, 71 percent said it would take minutes, or hours at worst, to detect a configuration change to an endpoint on the organization’s network.

"All of these results fall into the 'we can do that, but I’m not sure how long it takes' category", said Tim Erlin, director of IT security and risk strategy for Tripwire. "It’s good news that most organizations are investing in basic security controls; however, IT managers and executives, who don’t have visibility into the time it takes to identify unauthorized changes and devices, are missing key information that’s necessary to defend themselves against cyber-attacks".

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo Credit: elwynn/Shutterstock
Five tools for recovering corrupted Word documents

Publié: février 15, 2016, 8:07pm CET par Mike Williams

You’ve been working on it forever, and had almost finished, but… Disaster. That all-important Word document no longer opens.

If you’re using some other viewer, try reopening it in Word. It may offer to repair the file, and this can fix a lot of problems.

Can your archive tool extract the contents of the document? DOCX files are Zip archives, so that might work (rename the extension to .zip if you have any problems).

If you can see inside the file, browse to the Word folder to check for document content. For example, "document.xml" should contain the plain text.

If none of this delivers what you need, and you don’t have any backups, then there’s still the chance that a third-party recovery tool can restore at least some of your document.

What’s your best option? We pitted five tools against our carefully corrupted test files to try and find out.

DataNumen Word Repair 2.5
Platform: Windows NT
Supports: DOC, DOCX, Microsoft Word 6 -- Office 2-13
Price: $89.95 right now as a special deal, $129.95 normally

DataNumen Word Repair opens with a cramped and non-resizable interface, but at least it’s easy to use: just select your broken files and click "Start Repair".

If recovery has been successful then a window appears to display the results.

The preview is, well, not ideal. The formatting isn’t always accurate, even with files that aren’t broken. And the fixed-size window is so small that the text wraps, so what you see isn’t necessarily going to look like the real page.

There is one preview plus -- no annoying "<demo>" tags inserted into the regular text, as happens with some of the competition -- but that’s about it.

Of course this is just a demo, so there’s no way to select, save, or print the document content until you purchase a license.

Still, DataNumen Word Repair did well where it mattered, recovering at least some of each of our test files. Worth a try.

DocRepair 3.10
Platform: Windows NT+
Supports: DOC, DOCX, Word 6.0 -- 2010 (and maybe 2013)
Price: from $79

At first glance DocRepair looks like it’ll be as easy to use as the competition, with a 3-step wizard to lead you through the recovery process.

But then we ran into the Document Recovery Options screen. Here we were told to check a box if the document text wasn’t English (no-one else needed to know this), and check another box to retrieve any document image (all the other tools did that automatically).

Select what you need, click Next, and wait as the document is recovered… Maybe.

In our tests, DocRepair recovered minor damage correctly. Sometimes this took a long time, though, and some of the more seriously corrupted documents saw the program lock up altogether.

Even when it did succeed, DocRepair presented its results in plain text, no formatting at all, with many words replaced by DEMO, and embedded images only visible in a separate dialog. Even if the content seems correct, there’s absolutely no way to tell whether the document the program recovers will look like the original.

Put it all together and DocRepair was the poorest performer in this group. You might still want to try it -- there’s always a chance it’ll recover something that another program has missed -- but that’s strictly as a last resort.

Savvy DOCX Recovery 3.0
Platform: Windows XP-8
Supports: DOCX, Word 2007-2013
Price: free

Most Word repair tools are eye-wateringly expensive, but if you’re short on spare cash then the open source Savvy DOCX Recovery might appeal.

The initial signs made us wary, with assorted buttons and menu options leading to a host of websites -- some pointless, or with broken links -- and the developer highlighting his own "$22 manual repair" option.

Still, if you ignore all the junk, Savvy DOCX Recovery works much like a basic version of the other tools here. Nothing advanced -- no options, no "batch repair" -- just hit "Browse" to select your file and "Recover" to try and fix it.

Our tests showed very inconsistent results. At its worst, the program failed to fix simple corruption which every other tool here could handle.

But just when we were about to give up, Savvy DOCX Recovery scanned our most damaged file, and repaired it as well as the best of the competition.

Savvy DOCX Recovery isn’t exactly reliable, then, but we’d still keep a copy around for emergencies. It just might do everything you need.

Stellar Phoenix Word Repair 5.0.0.0
Platform: Windows NT+ -- 7
Supports: DOC, DOCX, Office 2000-2010 (in our experience 2013 too)
Price: $49 (non-commercial), $199 (commercial usage)

Stellar Phoenix Word Repair installs easily, and has absolutely no annoying dependencies to get in your way (it runs on anything from NT up, and although Windows 10 isn’t "officially" supported it worked well for us).

The interface is straightforward. An opening dialog asks you to select the target file or folder, there’s an option to search subfolders, and you can launch the repair process with a click.

After 5-10 seconds the preview window displays whatever has been recovered. We were able to view all document content, text and images, but unsurprisingly there’s no way to save or print it until you’ve purchased a licence.

If you selected multiple files then they’ll be listed in a left-hand sidebar, and clicking any of these will start another recovery attempt.

Unfortunately, previews are largely crippled for all documents after the first. You’ll see some text, but other parts are missing, there are endless "<demo>" tags to get in your way, and formatting is incomplete. It’s annoying, but you can get around it by opening documents individually.

Repair performance was excellent, with Stellar Phoenix Word Repair recovering fragments of content where nothing else could. They were just fragments -- a few images -- but it was still an impressive performance, and put the program just ahead of DataNumen Word Repair.

Office Recovery
Online service
Supports: Word 6.0 -- 2010
Price: $39 for one file, $59 for 30 within 48 hours, more subscription options

Office Recovery is a web service which can recover a host of file types: Office, email, virtual machines, databases, images, archives, and more.

We pointed our browser at each test document in turn, and watched as it was uploaded and processed.

There’s no direct preview of the results. Instead you must download a "demo-repaired" RTF version of the file, and open it in some local application.

As with the commercial competition, Office Recovery doesn’t give you the full document for free. The beginning of the file is correct, but after that most text is replaced by the word "demo". Over, and over, and over again.

Office Recovery is easy and convenient to use, and its repair abilities are up with the best of the desktop competition. But it’s expensive for anything more than one-off emergency use.

Conclusion

A good Word repair tool must be able to fix all kinds of damage, and -- if it’s a commercial product -- give you an accurate preview of your document, so you can be sure it’ll be recovered correctly.

DocRepair fails these tests immediately, due its poor recovery performance and plain text, image-free preview window.

Savvy DOCX Recovery also failed to recover some of our test files, but others were repaired perfectly, and as it’s also free, this is probably the tool you should use first.

Office Recovery delivered great recovery performance. It’s also expensive, but if you need a very quick one-off repair -- or you’re nowhere near a PC -- then it’s a solid choice.

If you’d like a tool you can use regularly, though, it’s a very close match between our final two products. Stellar Phoenix Word Repair’s low price just about tips the balance in its favour, if you’re a non-commercial user, but DataNumen Word Repair delivers good results too: try them both, see what they can do for you.
Should you use Amazon S3?

Publié: février 15, 2016, 7:54pm CET par Neil Stobart

In any discussion about cloud computing, it is becoming harder and harder to ignore Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), the massively scalable, cost-effective cloud storage solution developed specifically to house the huge influx of data created by organizations worldwide.

Amazon S3 commands twice the market share of all its closest competitors combined and is likely to be the storage platform of choice for on-premise hybrid or private cloud deployments for some time to come.

To a certain degree, S3 has already become the standard for cloud storage. Almost every application connects to S3 and most storage vendors have already announced that they connect to S3 or are working to do so.

In addition to Amazon, there are a number of competing storage implementations, including Google Cloud Storage, Openstack Swift, Rackspace’s Cloud Files and Ceph, that are S3 compliant. These services use the standard programming interface, but have different underlying technologies and business models.

The rise of S3, which Amazon describes as "cost-effective object storage", has also helped drive the adoption of object storage. In addition to Amazon, some of the biggest names of recent times such as Facebook, Netflix, Dropbox and Twitter use object storage.

It’s also deployed by enterprises for applications that require massive amounts of unstructured data, including content media storage, backup and archiving, data analytics, private cloud, file distribution and sharing.

With S3 and object storage so heavily interlinked, there are compelling reasons why companies seeking to implement a cloud strategy, whether it be across public, private or hybrid clouds, should take a closer look at the credentials of their storage supplier.

Compatibility Is Key

For organizations considering deploying an open-hybrid cloud and/or moving data between S3 and the private cloud, it is of the utmost importance that they understand the level of compatibility a storage platform claims versus its compatibility in reality. With S3 quickly becoming the object storage standard, choosing the right storage platform for the hybrid or private cloud can save organiZations money and shave months off the time to deploy. In essence, compatibility matters.

Companies and developers implementing applications with the Amazon S3 API depend significantly on its compatibility to ensure their applications remain compatible and functional. But because no one enforces standards over S3 compatibility, choosing the right storage platform can be much more complex than providers would like customers to believe.

There are 51 total operations available through the S3 API (nine simple, 18 moderately complex and 24 advanced), a good reference to S3 API set is here, but compatibility is based on a storage platform’s ability to perform some, many, or all of them.

This means that, in practice, storage platforms may claim S3 compatibility even though they only support the nine simple operations that allow only very basic manipulation of data through the API. And while other platforms might be able to provide a moderate level of compatibility, most of them are still unable to perform all of the 18 additional moderately complex operations.

Needless to say, most storage platforms find it even harder, if not impossible, to provide the 51 total operations of the S3 API. This should be a concern for organizations and developers that want the assurance their applications are S3 compatible and will work seamlessly with their hybrid or on-premise cloud, because they need to choose a storage platform that provides advanced compatibility with the S3 API. Only then can they have certainty that whatever strategy they adopt and whatever application they use will survive into the future.

If, however, organizations opt for a platform with only limited S3 compatibility, they could find that their storage does not support the commands required by future applications further down the line.

SDS in Private and Hybrid Clouds

The storage platforms best suited to providing private or hybrid cloud are highly likely to be software defined storage (SDS) solutions. Because SDS abstracts logical storage services and capabilities from the underlying physical storage systems, it is massively scalable, resilient, highly available and reduces complexity by allowing a single application to execute data services across multiple storage hardware platforms. Allowing organizations to use commodity hardware instead of expensive proprietary equipment, saves costs by eliminating vendor lock-in and the expense of forklift upgrades.

In effect, SDS allows organizations to replicate the Amazon S3 experience in their data centers and on their private and hybrid clouds. This makes it even more beneficial for enterprises to look for SDS-based object storage platforms that are truly S3 compatible.

Which means that the answer to the question, to S3 or not S3, is both.

Neil Stobart, EMEA Technical Director at Cloudian.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo Credit: rvlsoft/Shutterstock
The tech industry's greater responsibility

Publié: février 15, 2016, 5:51pm CET par Sagi Gidali

Today, Internet censorship is becoming a growing concern among dozens of developing countries. In the mid-1990s, China began blocking foreign websites and saw successful results, proving to other authoritarian countries wishing to control their constituents that these types of regulations are well worth the effort. Since then, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Azerbaijan, Syria and others have followed China’s footsteps and began implementing regulations censoring Internet activity.

This means that the people living within these countries are unable to access information from the outside world. Thus, they are fed filtered information that praises their leadership and government, and because they are not exposed to varying and contrary opinions, are susceptible to believing and accepting their government’s authoritarian policies. In western countries we often take our first amendment right for granted. We are allowed to say, write, and scream whatever we’d like about our government without the risk of being jailed or beaten. We’re allowed, even encouraged, to question policies and think differently. If only this were the case worldwide.

Social media sites have taken over the world of pop culture to such an extent that censorship actually strengthens dissent when very popular sites are blocked. For example, perhaps a person isn’t very interested in politics but they love watching music videos on YouTube -- however, when they try to go to YouTube the site is suddenly blocked. Even if that particular person wouldn’t normally follow the news, this leaves them with an unsettling thought: if the government is willing to block harmless videos, how important is the information that is being withheld from us?

In 2009, for example, after Iranians moved to social networking sites in order to speak out against the elections and organize protests, the government cracked down on Internet censorship. It’s pretty straightforward as to why Iran did this: they didn’t want its citizens demonstrating against the government ever again. Rather, Iran wanted "stability" and quiet control.

Since then, Iran has implemented several methods in order to effectively regulate the Internet. First, Iran requires that every Internet service provider ought to comply with filter lists. Second, Iran uses smart filtering to restrict citizens from accessing certain websites, most of which are deemed immoral (such as pornography) or too political (such as English news sites). Third, Iran uses "speed throttling", or purposely slowing down the Internet connection, to frustrate users. And lastly, Iran monitors the web activity of its citizens. In censoring the Internet at every possible angle, there’s not much that Iranians can do to receive outside information and learn about what’s really going on both in the world and in their home country.

Countries that uphold strict censorship laws have eroded the trust many other societies have built with their consumers. Citizens under censorship are aware that with Internet regulations comes propaganda. Instead of allowing the unbiased media to sway the opinions of the government, consumers rely heavily on recommendations from friends, family and social media influencers far more than Westerners do.

It’s for this reason that the tech community must band together and help those without a voice.

Giving those who have limited access to both freedom of expression and current events in the world the opportunity to use a VPN or Virtual Private Network eliminates the isolation set in place by restrictive governments. A VPN is an advanced technology that reroutes normal web traffic via the service provider’s private servers using encryption protocols to make all of the activity untraceable and away from prying eyes. It’s as if users are given an online alias allowing them to access information and share their opinions without fear of sometimes fatal repercussions.

VPN providers can join forces with non-for-profits to provide unrestricted Internet access to those who need it most. #UnblockTheWeb, for example is partnership that exemplifies the potential of such cooperation. This movement was established with the goal of offering online freedom and anonymity to activists and dissidents living in closed societies.

This is just one example of how tech companies can meet their greater responsibility and instill changes that go far beyond technical innovation to forever impact human rights.

Photo Credit: Pressmaster/Shutterstock

Sagi Gidali is the Founder and CPO of SaferVPN, a cyber-security SaaS company that provides a premium VPN (Virtual Private Network) service to over 300,000 international users. Sagi is a UX/UI Expert who believes in keeping things simple-- both in life and in tech. He has a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Economics from Tel Aviv University and over 10 years of industry experience.
'The room had started to smell. Really quite bad': Stephen Fry exits Twitter once again

Publié: février 15, 2016, 5:22pm CET par Mark Wilson

For a man so readily associated with words -- and certainly for a wordsmith so enamored with technology -- Twitter seems like something of a natural home for Stephen Fry. Over the years he has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers, but last night he closed his account. Fry's latest exit from Twitter (there have been several over the last few years for numerous reasons) came about because of the backlash he received for making a joke at an award ceremony.

Hosting the BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) on Sunday, he referred to costume designer and award winner (and, indeed, friend) Jenny Beavan as being "dressed as a bag lady". 'Offended' Twitter users attacked Fry in their droves, and he fought a valiant battle, before eventually giving up and terminating his account. It comes just days after Twitter set up a new Trust & Safety Council.

The complainers seemed oblivious to the fact that Beavan and Fry are close friends -- even less that she was in on the joke. After hours of abuse from the hard of thinking, Fry lashed out by saying: "Will all you sanctimonious fuckers fuck the fuck off Jenny Beavan is a friend and joshing is legitimate. Christ I want to leave the planet".

In a post on his own website, Fry explains his reasons for ditching Twitter:

[...] let us grieve at what twitter has become. A stalking ground for the sanctimoniously self-righteous who love to second-guess, to leap to conclusions and be offended -- worse, to be offended on behalf of others they do not even know. It's as nasty and unwholesome a characteristic as can be imagined. It doesn't matter whether they think they’re defending women, men, transgender people, Muslims, humanists... the ghastliness is absolutely the same. It makes sensible people want to take an absolutely opposite point of view. I've heard people shriek their secularism in such a way as to make me want instantly to become an evangelical Christian.

He likens his departure from the site to simply leaving the room. He may well return, but at the moment the waters of Twitter are "frothy with scum", and Fry suggests that "too many people have peed in the pool" to make him want to stick around right now.

Twitter has long been trying to be seen to fight trolls that abuse other users, but Fry is quick to counter suggestions that he has been run off the site:

But you've let the trolls and nasties win! If everyone did what you did, Stephen, the slab-faced dictators of tone and humour would have the place to themselves. Well, yes and they're welcome to it. Perhaps then they'll have nothing to smell but their own smell.

So I don't feel anything today other than massive relief, like a boulder rolling off my chest. I am free, free at last.

Photo credit: Twocoms / Shutterstock
LG lets you choose a flagship feature with X series smartphones

Publié: février 15, 2016, 4:42pm CET par Mihăiță Bamburic

Two of the features that consumers get by opting for a flagship smartphone, as opposed to a mid-range or low-end device, are a nicer display and a better camera. Typically, if you are looking for a lesser (and less expensive) handset you will have to settle for less. Manufacturers have to sell those premium devices somehow, right?

But, with its new X series smartphones, LG is challenging the status quo by giving prospective buyers the option to get a flagship-worthy camera or display. It is an interesting strategy, but how is it implemented?

The X series is actually comprised of two different smartphones, one with a better camera called X cam and the other with a better screen called X screen. The former "sports dual cameras on the rear and delivers one of the most advanced camera experience in a mass-tier smartphone", LG says. Meanwhile, with the latter, consumers get "an 'always-on' Second Screen which until now has only been available on LG’s premium V10". It sounds simple, but in practice consumers are not getting two nearly-identical smartphones with just two differences between them.

X cam (shown on the left) is equipped with a 5.2-inch 1080p panel, a 1.14 GHz octa-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 13 MP and 55 MP rear cameras, 8 MP camera on the front, 16 GB of storage, 2,520 mAh battery, 4G LTE and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It measures 147.5 x 73.6 x 5.2-6.9 mm and weighs 118 g. Available colors are gold, pink gold, titan silver and white.

X screen (shown on the right) packs a 4.93-inch main screen with 720p resolution and a 1.76-inch secondary panel with a 520 by 80 resolution. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM and a 2,300 mAh battery. It has a 13 MP camera on the back and an 8 MP camera on the front. It also offers 4G LTE connectivity and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It measures 142.6 x 71.8 x 7.1 mm. Available colors are black, pink gold and white.

As you can see, by the looks of it, X cam has a better processor, larger battery and, I think for most consumers, a more attractive display thanks to the higher resolution. Meanwhile, X screen seems to only appeal to those looking for a novel display which, I think, makes it a niche product.

Both smartphones will be showcased at MWC 2016 later this month, and will be available starting next month in Asia, Europe and Latin America.
Wink home automation hub gets water sensors with leakSMART

Publié: février 15, 2016, 3:50pm CET par Alan Buckingham

Water damage is a big deal, in fact, it's one of the most reported claims for home insurance, behind only fire and lightning, and wind and hail. Now with home automation products increasingly gaining market share and mainstream acceptability, that problem can be reigned in to a certain extent. No, it won't prevent extremes like Hurricane Katrina, but if a pipe springs a leak then you can get a jump on it.

Wink, makers of a home automation hub that is compatible with many third-party devices, is getting its first water sensors thanks to leakSMART, one of the more prominent manufacturers in the business.

Like any such product, there's a bit of work on the part of the user. You'll need to get the valve and install it at the point of your home's main water source. There's no getting around this, you'll need to cut the space out of the pipe, so measure twice. I did this a few years ago for a filter system and can attest to how nervous you can be when you're about to cut the line that supplies water to your whole home and family.

Once that's out of the way, you'll be home free, just install the sensors in obvious locations, under a sink, near a washing machine, etc.

It may be worth it, as Wink points out "once both the Valve and Sensors are paired to the Wink HUB, a Robot can be enabled within the Wink app that will automatically shut off your home’s main water source if any of the sensors detect a leak".

While the hub is reasonably priced at $50, a starter kit for leakSMART will set you back $699. Of course, in the long run, that's cheaper than water damage and less painful than dealing with insurance.
New report reveals in-game purchase habits

Publié: février 15, 2016, 3:29pm CET par Ian Barker

Only around two percent of free to play game users spend money making in-game purchases. A new report into buying habits from gaming analytics specialist SOOMLA reveals the -- perhaps unsurprising -- information that those who made an in-app purchase in one game are six times more likely to do so in another.

Yaniv Nizan, Co-founder and CEO of SOOMLA, says, "Attracting payers to your game is like finding a needle in a haystack, but when crossing in-app purchase data from thousands of other games, our payer prediction technology reveals which user segments will eventually convert and what they're likely to buy".

Other insights from the report include the fact that quick payers (those who make a first in-app purchase within 24 hours of install) are nine times more likely to pay in another game. Plus over 40 percent of users who paid $25 or more in one game, will also pay in another game.

For each in-game item users purchase with real currency, an average of 18 additional items are purchased with virtual currency. And while 71 percent of in-game purchases are for 'single use' items, like extra time or ammunition, it's 'lifetime' items such as characters, level packs or advert removal, that account for 65 percent of revenue.

Looking at usage patterns, daily active users increase by as much as 33 percent at weekends, and this occurs primarily on phones, although sessions on tablets are often longer in duration. Patterns differ across game genres as well, with strategy games boasting the highest average session duration of 11 minutes -- 2.6 times more than for other genres. Seasonal factors are at work too with developers who market their apps in time for the holiday season achieving an average revenue per paying user increase in December of 83 percent above the annual average.

If you want more information the full report is available to download from the SOOMLA website.

Photo credit: Mmaxer / Shutterstock
Rampant waste: the hidden cost of enterprise software

Publié: février 15, 2016, 2:23pm CET par Vincent Smyth
A new Flexera Software report reveals that most organizations are unnecessarily wasting significant portions of their enterprise software budget.

Consider these statistics: 75 percent of enterprises are out of compliance with regards to at least some percentage of their software, 44 percent of enterprises (compared to only 25 percent the prior year) paid $100,000 or more in true-up costs to their software vendors as a result of noncompliant software use; and for 20 percent (up from only 9 percent in the prior year) the software audit true-up costs were $1,000,000 or more! In addition, 93 percent of organisations report spending money on at least some software that is under-used -- i.e. shelfware.

Increasingly enterprises are waking up to the fact that as much as 25 percent of their software spend is being wasted -- but many are less clear on why this waste is occurring and what they can do about it.

The Problem Managing Software Licenses

The very software that facilities the efficient functioning of enterprises on a daily basis happens also to be among the most difficult types of assets to track, manage and optimize -- creating hidden wastes and complexity. Several causes contribute to the problem.

First, each of the license agreements governing the thousands of applications run within the enterprise contains dense and complex terms -- Product Use Rights -- pertaining to what organizations are entitled to do with the software. These Product Use rights must be tracked, managed and understood to ensure compliance. If usage exceeds those terms, an organization is out of compliance. When the software vendor audits their customer and discovers this non-compliance, an enterprise is often subject to "true-up" penalties that can and often do run into six- and seven-figures per application.

The contrary is also true: if those licenses aren’t being utilized, or if all of an organization's Product Use Rights aren’t being fully utilized -- then it has purchased "shelfware" that is sitting idle. Most organizations experience these issues simultaneously -- they are out of compliance with some of their software titles, while other titles are being under-utilized.

Additional factors further complicate the scenario, such as new technologies like the cloud, virtualization and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies that allow device-based access to applications. These technologies have software licensing consequences that can seriously impact whether a company stays in, or falls out of compliance. Other factors such as employee turnover, mergers and acquisition, retirement of hardware further muddy the waters, rendering software license management more difficult.

Common Software Asset Management Mistakes

Below is a list of the most common mistakes organizations make that commonly result in shelfware and non-compliant use:
1. Making ad hoc purchases -- Lack of controls over purchases is common, even for when made under a Volume Agreement.
2. Not tracking installation and use -- By tracking installations of software and its usage, organizations may be able to substantially reduce ongoing maintenance payments
3. No central repository -- A central repository holds proof of software licenses, making them more easily accessible for review. It also allows organizations to quickly comply with vendor audit requests, saving time and money.
4. Not tracking renewal dates -- Failing to keep track of software license agreements and renewal dates makes organizations vulnerable to lapses in maintenance or loss of use rights, which can prove costly.
5. Not optimizing spend by leveraging Product Use Rights -- Accurately applying Product Use Rights can drastically reduce license consumption and hence reduce the need to buy more licenses.
6. No communication between departments -- IT operations must work with procurement to ensure that software is installed and used in accordance with the respective license agreements to avoid compliance issues.
7. Not ascertaining strategic requirements -- Ordering licenses without determining what the organization is currently using and truly requires over the longer term could be an expensive mistake.
8. Assuming licensing rules don’t change -- Licensing rules change frequently and failure to stay on top of these changes can result in being out of compliance.
9. Not purchasing maintenance at the right time -- The right time to purchase maintenance is when organizations are looking to upgrade. If organizations buy maintenance before a release is announced, the price often is significantly lower and they will become automatically eligible for that product upgrade.
10. Not automating Software License Optimization -- An optimized license environment cannot be achieved without people, processes and automation. Software Asset Management/Software License Optimization solutions enable organizations to collect all the necessary data and apply license entitlement rules to help ensure continual compliance and optimization.
Chief Information Officers would be well advised to be versed on the challenges associated with Software Asset Management. Without this insight, it will be impossible for them to put into place the necessary people, processes and technology to eliminate this source of financial waste and corporate risk.

Photo Credit: ARENA Creative/Shutterstock

Vincent Smyth is Senior Vice President EMEA at Flexera Software, responsible for driving revenue, market share and customer satisfaction in the independent software vendor, high-tech manufacturer and enterprise account domains. Prior to Flexera Software, he has held several sales management responsibilities for Business Objects, PTC and Computer Associates. He has extensive experience of doing business across Europe and the Middle East.
Samsung starts rolling out Android 6.0 Marshmallow for Galaxy S6

Publié: février 15, 2016, 1:28pm CET par Mihăiță Bamburic

Android 6.0 Marshmallow has reached only a small number of Android users since its debut in early-October of last year. Google's latest numbers place it at just 1.2 percent distribution share. Aside from a limited number of handsets that arrive with Marshmallow on board, the other reason why Android 6.0 has such a small reach is the fact that upgrades are only available for very few popular handsets.

Samsung is now changing that, as today it announces that the much-awaited Android 6.0 Marshmallow update has finally started to roll out, with its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge flagships being the first devices to get it.

Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are among the handful of devices that Samsung has confirmed as getting the Android 6.0 Marshmallow software update. Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge Plus are also on this list, but it is not clear when they will receive the same treatment. Same goes for flagships that arrived in 2014, like Galaxy S5.

As is usually the case with major updates, it can take months before the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update is available for all Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge units. Some markets and mobile operators will get it sooner than others; there is no official timetable at this point, and I doubt there will be one. So, basically, it will be available when it will be available.

If you want to learn more about what Android 6.0 Marshmallow brings to the table for Samsung devices, check out this article. Samsung specifically mentions "the enhanced edge screen and new edge screen features", which make "[Galaxy S6 edge] faster and more convenient than ever" as a change that Galaxy S6 edge users can expect to see.
Microsoft Lumia 650 is an affordable Windows 10 Mobile device, but does a missing feature make it a fail?

Publié: février 15, 2016, 1:13pm CET par Brian Fagioli
When Microsoft purchased Nokia's handset business, it was viewed by many as a way to stop the Finnish company from defecting from Windows Phone. In other words, Microsoft may have thrown money at a problem to prevent embarrassment. Since the purchase, Lumia hardware has been fairly beautiful and affordable, but sales have continued to be abysmal, while Windows 10 Mobile has seen delays.

Despite dark skies in Lumia Land, today Microsoft cranks out yet another handset. The Lumia 650 body is aluminum, and at $199, the phone is affordable too. Unfortunately for Microsoft fans, there is a huge catch that, for many, could make this business-focused smartphone worthless.

"We've paid attention to every detail, pairing the highest level of craftsmanship with maximum everyday productivity. The 5 inch OLED display is bright and crisp; colors really pop and blacks are deep and clear. It’s by far our most beautiful screen ever at this price point. Lumia 650 also features a highly polished, diamond cut and anodized aluminum frame, giving it an unparalleled and premium feel. Importantly, we didn't sacrifice the removable battery and expandable storage, something we know our customers enjoy having. And with a profile of only 6.9mm and weighing just 122 grams, it’s incredibly thin and light", says Samuli Hänninen, GM, Phones Program Management, Microsoft.

Hänninen further says, "Lumia 650 also features a 5MP wide-angle, front-facing camera and Microsoft’s flagship imaging algorithms, providing remarkable photo and video capabilities. Leveraging our world-class optics, the advanced 8MP rear-facing camera includes options for rich capture and living images enabling you always to capture the memory as it happens".

Notable Specs
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 212
- Storage: 16GB (expandable)
- RAM: 1GB
- Battery: 2000 mAh
- Display: 5 inch OLED, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- Display resolution: HD720 (1280 x 720)
- Height: 142 mm
- Width: 70.9 mm
- Thickness3: 6.9 mm
- Weight: 122 g
On paper, an affordable Windows 10 Mobile handset with decent specs and an aluminum body sounds like a winner, right? Unfortunately, this phone comes with a big catch. Microsoft often touts the Continuum feature of its OS, but it is not found here due to the fairly anemic Qualcomm Snapdragon 212. In other words, the business-focused Lumia 650 cannot double as a desktop like the more expensive consumer-focused 950 series devices. Arguably, Continuum would make more sense on a business device. Oh well.

Continuum aside, this could be a smart choice for businesses where app availability is less important than it is for consumers. If security, email, and Microsoft solutions like Office and Lync for Business are what you need, this affordable smartphone makes much sense. While the loss of Continuum stings, if you aren't ready to ditch traditional workstations anyway, it could be inconsequential.

READ MORE: I'm sorry, Lumia fans, but Microsoft Continuum can't run two apps side-by-side

The removable battery in particular will make this attractive to road warriors, where carrying a few extra packs of juice can save the day. The micro SD card slot is appreciated, although I'm dubious that businesses will truly want removable media on an employee device. Quite frankly, besides Microsoft calling this a business-focused smartphone, I am not sure what really makes it so. In other words, consumers should appreciate the low price and metal body too.

Unfortunately, it will only be sold in European markets for now. Starting February 18th, people in that region can purchase it in white or black. Whether it will come to the USA is unknown at this time.

Is it odd for Microsoft to release a Windows 10 Mobile device without Continuum in 2016? Sound off in the comments.
Mazar Bot malware can root and wipe Android smartphones

Publié: février 15, 2016, 12:09pm CET par Mark Wilson
Security experts are warning about new malware attack that targets Android users. Mazar Bot is delivered via SMS, is able to gain root access to devices, installs software including Tor, and can even go as far as completely wiping a victim's phone.

Mazar Bot was discovered by Heimdal Security whose researchers analyzed a text message that had been found sent to random numbers. The message purports to provide a link to an MMS, but in fact tricks recipients to install the malicious mms.apk -- Mazar Android BOT in disguise.

The message reads: " You have received a multimedia message from +[country code] [sender number] Follow the link http: //www.mmsforyou [.] Net / mms.apk to view the message", and would be enough to fool many people into clicking through to view what they believe to be a photo or video. The MMS Messaging app uses administrator privileges to gain access to permissions such as SEND_SMS, READ_PHONE_STATE, and ERASE_PHONE.

The malware also installs Tor, connects to the http://pc35hiptpcwqezgs.Onion server, and sends an SMS to an Iranian phone number revealing the handset's location. Heimdal Security warns that Mazar Bot can:
- Open a backdoor into Android smartphones, to monitor and control them as they please;
- Send SMS messages to premium channel numbers, seriously increasing the victim’s phone bill;
- Read SMS messages, which means they can also read authentication codes sent as part of two-factor authentication mechanisms, used also by online banking apps and ecommerce websites;
- Use their full access to Android phones to basically manipulate the device to do whatever they want.
But there is the risk of a man-in-the-middle attack using the Polipo proxy, and Mazar Bot can also inject itself into Chrome.

Interestingly -- and perhaps revealingly -- the malware will not install on handsets configured to use Russian. While Mazar Bot is not entirely new (it was first talked about back in November), it was previously restricted to advertisements on the Dark Web. This is the first time it has been seen out in the wild.

Photo credit: Georgejmclittle / Shutterstock
App stores to generate over $100bn in revenue in five years

Publié: février 15, 2016, 9:48am CET par Anthony Spadafora

When apps first came to smartphones, it completely changed the ways users interacted with their devices. Mobile phones went from being just phones that could make calls and send short messages to devices that resembled miniature computers.

Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store saw a dramatic rise in the number and quality of the apps they offered almost instantly. For many users, apps have become commonplace and they no longer hold our interest or excitement as they once did.

However in other parts of the world, smartphone adoption is just beginning to ramp up. According to the data provider App Annie, based in San Francisco, global mobile app store revenue will reach $101 billion in five years. The decreasing cost of smartphones combined with data plans becoming more accessible will enable people in developing countries to own a smartphone for the first time which will in turn lead these new users to purchasing their first apps.

The user base of smartphones and tablets will reach 6.2 billion by 2020, which is more than double the current user base of 2.6 billion. India, Indonesia, China, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey will likely see some of the strongest growth. The revenue each device generates will increase to $16.2 in 2020 as a result of an increase in spending in Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East, while there will be a slight decline in the amount spent in the Asia-Pacific region.

Apps that stream video and music along with dating apps will lead the predicted increase in spending. Better hardware and cheaper data plans will allow services such as Netflix, Spotify, Tinder and iQiyi in China to expand significantly.

Games are where a majority of users spend money on mobile apps, and this will continue to be the case, but their share of the money users spend on mobile apps will likely drop from 85 percent currently to 74 percent in the future.

It is important to keep in mind that App Annie’s projections include subscriptions to streaming services while omitting money spent on e-commerce, which includes ride share apps such as Uber and in-app advertising.

Apple is likely to retain its lead in gross revenue over the next five years. However, the Google Play Store and other third-party Android app stores will gain greater market share.

As global smartphone adoption increases it is likely that new apps and services will emerge. Smartphone ownership will also further propel the idea of a truly connected world.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo credit: Jean Lee / Shutterstock
According to eHarmony, Millenials are also seeking love for Valentine's Day

Publié: février 15, 2016, 3:10am CET par Alan Buckingham

Online dating is big business these days, though not everyone thinks it's such a great idea. Security has to be kept in mind -- if you're meeting someone in person it's best to do so in a public place. With that said, it can also be great for someone who suddenly finds themselves single later in life.

That demographic includes millenials, a group of people born in the 1980's, though there are no exact dates to define it. According to a recent report, this group of people have become rather prominent on dating sites, or at least on one.

eHarmony has released statistics on its user base. "Because eHarmony is renowned for its ability to match for long term relationships and marriage, understanding where our numbers are growing tells us something about the trends that are driving the numbers", says Dr. Neil Clark Warren, founder and CEO of eHarmony. "In this case, we can see that millennials might be a little bit misunderstood".

There are other caveats in this study. The company claims that in 2011 81 percent of users came from the desktop, but now 66 percent are using the mobile app. "The trend toward mobile is accelerating as more and more users replaced their desktop and now their laptops with the robust functionality that smartphones deliver", claims Armen Avedissian, eHarmony President.

As for location of online daters, the results show that the most popular areas are Washington DC, North Dakota, New York, Florida and Kentucky.

It's certainly some interesting information, both on demographics and location.

Photo credit: katalinks / Shutterstock