There is no virus threat!

PC Pro: Blogs & Analysis: Features: Is the virus threat real?

Honestly - this has been my feeling for a while. Who has really had any issues recently? I think the threat is overrated.

Any counter arguments?

A Butler

A Butler Well Served by This Election

This is a great story - and I almost cried at the end!

Google Flu Trends

Google Flu Trends

This is what data mining is all about. Finding correlations, deep insight, and useful technology!

Fridge-sized tape recorder could crack lunar mysteries

Fridge-sized tape recorder could crack lunar mysteries

An archiving error by NASA has meant 173 data tapes have sat in Perth for almost 40 years, holding information about lunar dust that could be vital in expanding science's understanding of the moon.
But after almost four decades, a donation from a Sydney computer society look sset to breathe fresh life into a long-neglected field of lunar science.

You know! It's a thingummy

You know! It's a thingummy... Whatjermercallit... The everyday items with the forgotten names Mail Online

My daughter always asks what the vertical indentation between the upper lip and nose is called.

Now I know - the Philtrum. The term derives from the Greek word philein, to kiss - for the ancient Greeks believed this area was one of the most erogenous spots on the body. Both Hitler and Charlie Chaplin covered theirs with a moustache- - while, apparently, SAS officers can kill someone simply by tapping-their philtrum in a certain way.

Bosses 'should embrace Facebook'

BBC NEWS Business Bosses 'should embrace Facebook':

Companies should not dismiss staff who use social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo at work as merely time-wasters, a Demos study suggests.

Security Policies Are Unrealistic

Employees: Security Policies Are Unrealistic - Security policy/Management - DarkReading:

Current IT security policies frequently don't reflect the reality of how employees use their computers, according to a report published today by Cisco Systems.

The report, a deeper analysis of internal threat data collected by Cisco earlier this year, indicates that many users break their companies' security policies because following those policies would prevent them from doing their jobs

I don't know about you - but I fit this category. I know so many people who simply disregard or do something specific to avoid their IT security policies - and these are generally the security people I'm talking about!

7 myths about security metrics

security metrics

Good article about measuring security risks. Interesting read while I'm thinking of my clients dashboard.

Banking security on a USB stick | Latest Security News - CNET News

Banking security on a USB stick Latest Security News - CNET News

Really - why can't we just use an RSA SecureID token? Because it costs money to send out these things! It costs money that customers don't want to spend. This is just another form (in my personal opinion) of two factor authentication.

Just my .02

Hackers publish attack code

Hackers publish attack code for last week's Windows bug:

Just a day after downplaying the vulnerability that caused it to issue an out-of-cycle patch last week, Microsoft Corp. late yesterday warned customers that exploit code had gone public and is being used in additional attacks.

'We've identified the public availability of exploit code that now shows code execution for the vulnerability addressed by MS08-067,' said Mike Reavey, operations manager of Microsoft's Security Response Center, in a post to the MSRC blog Monday evening. 'This exploit code has been shown to result in remote code execution on Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000.

Uh Oh... better get patching!

Carbon Footprint Dashboard

Carbon Footprint Dashboard

Posted using ShareThis

The Mortgages of the Future

Economic View - The Mortgages of the Future - NYTimes.com

Interesting read and some good ideas for different (or improved) mortgages. Unlike NAB's so called 'thinking mortgage'...

You too can scan (hack) your way to retirement (dismissal)

SoftPerfect Scans Networks From A USB Drive - Lifehacker Australia

Windows only: A good network scanner digs deep into any network it's pointed at and opens it up for you to get into. SoftPerfect Network Scanner does those things, can do them from a thumb drive, and is a good deal less intimidating than some other scanner apps out there.

Just make sure you read you're company policy on network and system usage - most organisations take a dim view of their employees scanning the network without permission (even if it is part of their role)!

Australian Government Censorship 'Worse Than Iran'

Slashdot Australian Government Censorship 'Worse Than Iran'


Reminds me of an ad for a softdrink - Drink Sprite and be goodlooking*

* Drinker must be goodlooking first

Live in a free country*

*not Australia

Photos for passwords?

http://www.utwente.nl/nieuws/pers/en/cont_08-044_en.doc/

Great read about using photos for passwords derived from work around getting handguns to recognise users.

"This idea of using biometrics for safe storage and transfer arose from the SecureGrip project. This is a project in which the grip of a policeman’s firearm is biometrically protected, in this case with a ‘personal grip' covered with a network of pressure sensors. These recognize the way in which the user holds the firearm. If someone else holds the weapon, it does not work."