Tech Can Be A Life Saver and also a Life Hinderer

The realization that technology has made our lives easier and harder at the same time.

I drive my car to a mechanic out in the middle of nowhere. And drop car off. I use my Nokia phone city lens to find breakfast out beyond where I can see. I walk in that direction trusting my tech. I find the breakfast place around the corner. I order my food. And except for telling my order, I speak to no... one.

I realize... Tech makes life easier by not having to rely on chance. The chance that someone will come by, the chance that the person is willing to talk to a stranger... the chance that they will know anything about the area. But I also realize it's by those chances that we could have made the best friendships and memories we've ever had.

The generations following will have less chances ...

UPDATE:
Though, you can also say... less chances of meeting a stranger and getting mugged.... lol. As future generations use technology to get around the useless questions, we have to teach them that, now more than ever, we have to focus and put more effort in interacting face to face with those we DO want in our lives.

Strangers are one source of friends, but not the only source. There's always friends of friends, classmates, etc.... Don't get rid of your tech, just know that it's not the only part of living in this world.

Transferred Ready Player One (Book Review)

Book Series: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline

Once having heard this book being described as Willie Wonka meets World of Warcraft, the description seemed very attractive.  And in no way does the description not ring true.  Ernest Cline had a lot of fun writing this novel as he did marketing it.

Beyond the book, he even tied a three month "easter egg" hunt to enhance the experience of reading the book. Readers of the first edition hard cover were treated with having to find a riddle in the book, answering it led to a website. At this website they'd have to beat a video game , then repeat all steps tree times. Ultimately at the end , the winning reader won a delorean with a built in flux capacitor.

All of this ties to a novel that has the joys of an online video game adventure combined with a fun childish mystery.  At the beginning , readers will be introduced to a world where the eighties are everything and the people with the most knowledge will have the greatest advantage.

The protagonist seems too be a character that might not seem worthy of the readers cheers, but as the story picks up, they'll suddenly find themselves rooting for him out loud.

This isn't meant to be the most believable book. Its requirement of disbelief extends as far as any Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings or Percy Jackson.  But beyond that disbelief, there are some references to the eighties that might be too obscure for some younger readers.  Those readers should be prepared to read along side the Internet, just in case the occasional Google search is required.

~FZver

Transferred Kill Decision (Book Review)

Book Series: Kill Decision
Author: Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez continues his love for studying the bleeding edge of technology with this next book in his collection of thrillers that have yet to disappoint.  Before, with his book series Daemon and Freedom, he dipped his toes into all aspects of humanity's extension through techologies tying themselves to the Internet and even to thoughts of the outer edges of the Singularity.  Here in Kill Decision, Mr. Suarez leaves the global focus of the web and human communication, and continues through the more dangerous and scary thoughts of directed self directed killing machines.

As the title hints, the book covers the idea of the "kill decision".  The question is, who is in control of whether a person lives or dies?  In the eyes of where we are, it's in some form of human.... could be a judge, a jury, or even that moment when a soldier is pulling the trigger, fighting for his life.   But the book covers the idea of, what if the robots that we have created were given the decision?

Mr. Suarez did his due diligence, once again showing that he always has the pulse of technology under his fingers.  And with that knowledge at hand, he weaves a story that scratches an itch within the reader that lingers even after putting the book down.

The swarming technology, the robot technology, the technology brought through this book can really REALLY scare.

~F.Zver

Transferred Daemon + Freedom (Book Review)

Book Series: Daemon + Freedom
Author: Daniel Suarez

Everyone wonders what can be done with the technology at hand.  What that next massively multi player online will be that takes over the youth of the world?  What is that next technology that will have us interact with our world a little differently?  Or maybe what can be done to cheat death?

With the series, Mr. Suarez does his due diligence and gathers all the information needed to bring to life, a world where one person with enough influence, knowledge, and willpower can pull back the curtain and play with the strings tied to all the puppets of this world.  Part of the fun of enjoying this thrillride is to read and be introduced into the beautiful technology that is today's bleeding edge.

This is a grand vision, brought to us by an author who writes with a passion for the technology that he represents.  Like a prophet, he weaves a tale, a vision, or maybe a prophecy that the technology in this world can be used with a dark precision, driven by a mind who can use them like a surgeon with a scalpel.

Any reader who enjoys technology and who wants to curl up reading a thriller, 'would enjoy this series.  Even today, the technology is still being shown to the world.  All readers will continue to enjoy discovering the technology in real life, as the rest of the world catches up to Daniel Suarez vision.

~F.Zver

Transferred Enders Game + Shadow Series (Book Review)

Book Series: Enders Game + Shadow Series
Author: Orson Scott Card

Enders Game is soon to be a movie, so this review needs to be published.  :-)

Enders Game doesnt appeal to everyone.  There's no question about that.  Everyone can find something in the book, but some people cannot suspend their disbelief.

Lets start from the beginning.  Ender's game is a book about a child named Ender.  And part of the book is from this child's point of view.  This is where readers differ on how they react or take in this main character Ender.  Some can call him cold hearted, some can call him efficient.  But that seems to be what the author intends.

These questions are questions that people dont normally think about.  How far is too far?   It would be an injustice to give too many details since further generations will be reading this book and this series.   However, we can cover the greater topics.

Enders Game covers the idea of controlled births, one world government, alien attack, and children trained to fight.  It covers friendship, sibling relationship, parent/child relationship, and even mentor/student relationships.  Maybe the book reaches too far, but Enders Game isnt a story about humanity's survival, it isnt a story about some kid growing up.  It's the story about the relationship people can have with each other.

You can get attached to any one of the characters in the series.  Interestingly enough, I got attached to "Bean" a minor character in Ender's Game but a really major character in Ender's Shadow.

Enders Shadow isnt an original  idea.  We have other books that cover minor characters as main characters, for example Rosencrantz And Guildenstern are Dead.
But here, Orson has taken the idea to a further extereme.  He's taken Bean, the character that has a pretty minor role in Ender's Game, and has created whole new point of view and essentially, world.  Especially as the series continues, it leaves the world of Ender behind and brings about the world of Bean.

The interesting paths that Scott Card takes in his books are facilitated by the great fan base the books have generated.  When a reader reads Ender's Game, Scott Card provides a base.  From there, a reader can follow Ender through the universe, with a more philosophical understanding through the Speaker of the Dead book series.  A reader also has the possibilty of going through the political path with the Shadow series.   Bean's world is a world of political intrigue and a world full of international powerplays by whole countries.  Thriller readers would love it.

In the end, Scott Card has written a scifi thriller without the tech fluff.  He doesnt beat you over the head.  He lets the relationships between the characters do the talking.

No matter what you've heard, it's still worth the time to read both of these books (Enders Game and Enders Shadow).  Think about the questions that they inspire.  Maybe you'll learn something about yourself that you never dared question...

~F.Zver

Transfered ... Zero Day + Trojan Horse (Book Review)

Book Series: Zero Day + Trojan Horse
Author: Mark Russinovich


Mark Russinovich has provided an immeasurable difference in the industry.  With gifts as Sysinternals and Windows Internals, its hard to imagine that Mark has more to give, but with these two books, he once again has given another positive to the people of this industry.

It goes without saying that media and entertainment avenues struggle sometimes to compromise technological realism with entertainment, but Mark has provided a series that seems to be tailored specifically for the geek in all of us.

In both books, the pacing is key.  The first half of the book works more as setup, instead of moving the story on a faster pace.  Most thrillers get you with a hook, but Mark's style is more of slow burn.  The story simmers and gives the readers time to breathe and take in the technology.  Part of this pace is due to Mark's none forgiving attention to detail.  Traditional thriller readers might get turned away, but techies will enjoy the extra information.

These books are a great pickup and a great pair of books as part of any techies library.

~F.Zver

Cluttered Life = Cluttered Mind

Look into LifeHacker Clutter article

fail early! fail often! Closing before you start.

How Your Web Experience with Selenium...

Have you ever wondered why it is that you have to do the same things over and over on the internet?  Maybe you want to just have your computer automatically do everything?  With Selenium you can actually do that...

Efficiency Through Controlled Distraction

Learning and Skillset is a priority. 
Distraction and Fun, needed for Creativity
However, you need to learn something as well.

http://lifehacker.com/how-clutter-affects-your-brain-and-what-you-can-do-abo-662647035

PRISM... Safety vs. Security

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/prism-collection-documents/

http://twit.tv/show/this-week-in-law/214

http://twit.tv/show/this-week-in-law/215

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

https://www.grc.com/sn/sn-408.txt

Consumer Responsibility Gone.

Consumer responsibility gone and autodrive cars will be subscription only.  List article about http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/what-will-happen-when-your-driverless-car-crashes-510549375

Passives, The Devil's in the Details

Passive

"Accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance."


The word passive can both be used for the user victim and the type of attack that makes them the victim.  If a person doesn't attempt to protect themselves, then they are by definition, passive to the threats all around.  The threats themselves are also passive, because they aren't directed.

What can only be described as wide spread chaos, the Internet is a thriving center of both directed and not directed threats.  A virus can be written both to attack particular people, or just attack anyone who touches it.

Lets walk in the shoes of a malicious person, who wants to take advantage of people who don't know any better.  Just like a normal person, he or she doesn't want to do anything too complicated.  You see, a good hacker, whether white hat, black hat, a threat or a good guy, likes the elegant type of solution.  The simplest answer is the best one.  In the case of our malicious person, lets say that he or she creates a picture file, with a virus in it, and emails it out.  And that email is forwarded by people because they thought the picture was funny.

You can say that this email was not directed to anybody in particular, but people still got infected.

Not all hackers are out to get you directly...  they fish.  They fish to see who would bite.  Who would take their bait?   Sometimes people don't even know that clicking that picture and looking at it is the equivalent of taking the bait.

Now passive threats can come in many different ways... it could be because a site has threats in their ads, you don't even have to click those.  It could be because you got an email from your "bank" but it linked to a page that wasn't really their page.  It could be just as simple as giving your computer access to the internet and visiting just one website.


Passives are dangerous, but they're sadly a part of the risk of surfing the Web.  In later posts we'll cover ways to try to make your journey through the Internet as safe as possible.  Remember, there is no such thing as 100% safety when it comes to computers.



~F.Zver

Tone deaf Theories

1. Tone deaf could be through the input
2. Tone deaf could be through the output
3. Actors can imitate through practice
4. Would inductive skull listening help tone deaf output since they are not using regular input?

Dont Blame the Internet.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/1/4279674/im-still-here-back-online-after-a-year-without-the-internet

The internet is a tool.  No soul.  Just like how the old samurai would say that they felt a connection with their swords, you can connect with the internet, but it doesnt mold you.   It'll definitely reveal what exists in you, but it doesnt change you.   It's a dumb tool with no aspirations or evil goals to change humanity.  Humanity will always be as it always has been.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/1/4279674/im-still-here-back-online-after-a-year-without-the-internet

Dog Raising... from new parent

Just off topic, non technological post.

I have a young pup

Heard a story from a coworker bout how his dog died.

Liver failure

no filtered water

and industrial strength cleaner.

notice your dog cleaning itself too much

be careful about the dogs health.

Aggressors do exist...

What do you think of the word "Aggressors"?
Usually, you'd think of an aggressive person.  Trust me, there are some aggressive people there... just look at politics and government.  But just like the devil, you could say that there are other aggressive people that would want you to believe that they didn't exist.  People would generally call them "hackers", but the term means way more than it's been used in the general media. 
The definition of HACKER used to mean just a person who looks at a system and try to devise a new more unique way to use the system, or reverse figure out how the system works.
We're here to use the term more like how the general populace has started to use it, as an all encompassing term for the type of person or people who use technology for a negative or evil purpose.  A hacker is someone to fear, and rightfully so. 
There are two types of evil hackers that we should try to protect ourselves from.  Those who are not organized and those who are.  Unorganized or loosely organized hackers are dangerous because they can take your information and use it for their benefit and most likely against your own benefit.  Some of these groups can appear on your news network as Anonymous or Lulsec.  They are dangerous but easily defended against.
But there are more serious hackers that definitely don't want you knowing that they exist.  These hackers work as close teams and groups for organized crime.  They    can obtain and siphon alot of information about people, and that information can be sold in the black market and used for Identity Theft.  So for these guys, you REALLY don't want them to get information about you or your family.  Even the tiniest bit of information like the family pet or your first car, can have dire consequences and lead to identity theft.
Identity theft is also an umbrella term which can mean anything from someone obtaining your credit card number, to someone opening credit lines in your name and racking up debt, all without you even knowing it.  The internet has no police, and no way to track everything that can happen.  Consider having access and using the Internet the same way as when people used to travel by horse drawn carriage through the wild west.... make good judgement calls, plan ahead, and watch your back.
As I progress through this blog, I will attempt to explain how to setup good defenses, and also how to develop good habits to minimize your family's exposure and risk from the Aggressors that exist in the internet.
~F.Zver

Transferred A Beginning is a very delicate time.

I have had this blog up but haven't really posted anything on it yet, until now.  It took me this long a time because I didn't know where to start.  There's so much information about protection that I didn't know where to begin.  So I'm going to begin right here, I'm going to start by stating what I plan to do with this blog. 
This blog is for those people who want to protect their home.  What makes a house different than a home... the age old adage "home is where the heart is."  It's a home because it's where you should be able to feel safe.  It is your castle.   We should protect our castles.
Now we all know that we can protect our homes with guns, and cameras, and dogs and the like, but part of our homes are now increasingly becoming digital.  Our homes now extend to this invisible area where our children and our better halves tread.  And it is in this area that we all need to learn how to protect.  There are 4 items that need attention:
1) Protection from Aggressors
2) Protection from Passives
3) Protection of users from themselves
4) Protection of users from the administrator (this is you)
These topics will be covered and defined in future postings, but for right now, I'll let you think about this new area of your household that you need to focus and protect.  The goal of this blog is to cover how to make you the true head of the digital household.

AnitTechnology stupidity

just because it's a distraction to driving doesnt mean that it's illegal
It's only if it's technological that it's illegal.

You can use a map and a note pad, jot down a note, and drive at the same time, and ti's legal..... but yo ucant use GPS on your phone anymore while its in your hand.

Productivity Comes not from Tinkering

Tinkering is permanent blocking.  If you want to get stuff done, get things and do things to get things to work, and move on to more important things.

Users Need Protection

Sometimes there's a hidden danger that people dont realize.  This is because sometimes people dont know what they dont know.  Ignorance maybe bliss for some, but for others, ignorance is a bit of a bane in everyone's existence.

The google reader fiasco and th pros and cons of using free services

No service is truly free.
We pay t our personal data
Multiple service providers versus just one service provider like ever note
the answer is only trust what other people are paying for with real money to stay around for a long time
Like Google business apps

Krebs on Security 3 rules to keep a clean PC

"There's a link to the three rules. So basically, yeah. If you didn't go looking for it, don't install it. If you need to install it, get it from the source, don't get it from a third-party wherever possible. And if you installed it, update it, right, no-brainer. And if you don't need it, get rid of it because then you don't have to update it, and you don't have to worry about it. And it decreases the attack surface on your system"

~Brian Krebbs

Prevention is the best safety.

How to manage a VPN easily with LogmeIN and Hamachi

Open DNS to filter content

Protect your kids using OpenDNS to filter content.

Switching the Carrier of the Phone by Yourself is Illegal

Now Illegal to switch between carriers by yourself, due to DMCA.

Convenience over Security, Internet Web Cameras

Check out cryptogasm.com and webcams and the Trendcam incident.

Go into the loss of privacy through the invention of the camera.  This Week in Law camera episode:

Why we wont lose to a Super Disease

Recently there have been news articles about some new version of gonorrhea that is resistive to the first defense created by humans.  This Super Gonorrhea has gotten some of the media worried about the possible pattern that will lead to the end of the human race. 

The current theory is that as our species continues to use these antibiotics and other treatments to kill off these bacteria, germs, viruses, etc... we're really just practicing a sort of evolution.  We're killing off the weaker ones, and eventually we'll be left with some super bacteria that we couldnt cope with.

I dont think this apocalyptic vision is plausible.  I dont think the human race will be completely wiped out, because our technology is better than nature. 

Security, There's room for improvement

I remeber the days when facebook and google defaulted to http instead of https.  i remebrr the days when passwords were something you only put on your most secure information. but with our continued interconnectedness, the need to secure our connections has grown to a level almost greater than securing the locations we're connecting to.

if you ask any person out there who is close to wearing a tinfoil hat, we do have technological answers