F-Secure Survey Shows Misplaced Security Confidence
A new computer-use survey from security firm F-Secure shows that the majority of more than 1,000 respondents understands the importance of updating virus definitions. Yet less than 20 percent understood the need for frequent definition updates.
Stimulating Choices
OK, so you can't take yourself public like Visa. But how much thought have you given to that big, fat check coming your way in May? You know, the "Spend our way out of this nonrecession" check?
Stomping On Your Carbon Footprint
The "greening" of IT is very à la mode right now, especially in storage. But this umbrella term suffers from overuse, and near as I can tell, is a euphemism for using less electricity. It's also a "feature" that enables some vendors to bump up their prices. So what exactly is the fuss again?
From 'Energized' To Not So Interested
The little do-si-do between Congress and the White House over missing e-mails is apparently over. Cynics might predict the next steps will be a digging in of heels, followed quickly by threats to launch (and bungle) an investigation, or worse, appoint a special prosecutor.
An Ounce Of Virtual Prevention
Security researchers found/punched a new hole in one of VMware's products this week, and from some quarters, it's being written about as if virtual machinery had never been a target for malicious code before. Those in the data center know differently.
Cell Phone Device Detects Deleted Data
Cell phone users whose phones use SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) strips need to know that a new device that reads those strips can also retrieve deleted text messages. It's called, appropriately enough, Cell Phone Spy.
Challenges From The Vendor View
Vendors see the world of technical challenges a bit differently -- and no surprise here: The items they cite often tend to play to the vendor's strengths or ongoing market initiatives. But here are how big thinkers at some storage vendors view the biggest engineering challenges ahead.
A Bad Day at Pakistan Telecom
Sometimes I think I should have been a network engineer. I love all that "belly of the internet beast" stuff—giant high-speed routers, huge data pipes, and all things close to the backbone of the Internet. But then I remember my grades from my engineering classes, and why I dropped engineering, and switched my major to English. Perhaps the engineer who broke both YouTube and the Pakistani Internet yesterday should have switched his major, too, before it was too late. I mean, I
Up To The Challenge?
Mask complexity, improve performance, and automate every last function possible -- those, in a giant nutshell, are the biggest engineering challenges for storage in the next several years, according to some big thinkers who've deployed a SAN or two in their time.
Where Storage Gets Innovative
There are lots of good barometers out there -- the Dow Jones Industrial Average comes to mind, as does the Consumer Confidence Index. A little closer to home, this gauge of where VCs and angel investors are placing their bets tells you a lot about where storage is headed in the next 12 months.
Encrypted Disks At (Some) Risk To Eavesdroppers
Whether you are using Windows Vista BitLocker, Mac OS X FileVault, Linux-based dm-crypt, or open source disk encryption software TrueCrypt - your data could be at risk to snoops, researchers have found. While it is troubling news, all is not lost.
Learn To Hack -- Ethically!
Know your enemy means knowing how your enemy works. That's the philosophy behind McAfee's Foundstone Professional Services Ethical Hacking course. You, too, can learn how to find and exploit network vulnerabilities -- but only if you pledge to use the knowledge for good.
Big Challenges Ahead
Late last week, the National Academy of Engineering issued a list of the biggest technical challenges of the 21st century, some real thorny knots like reverse-engineer the human brain and prevent nuclear terrorism.
It got me wondering how the some of brightest minds in storage might answer the same question. So I asked them.
Microsoft Moves To Squash 'Friendly' Worm
Last week, NewScientist ran a story about Microsoft's researching how worms -- really, really effective worms -- could be used to disseminate software patches. Today, Microsoft seems to be backing away from the idea.
When Good Intentioned Users Do Harm
Minneapolis-based data recovery and forensic software maker Kroll Ontrack published a list of what the company estimates to be some of most common mistakes end users make when trying to save data from a failing drive.
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