• security,  target

    Target Had Warning of Security Risks

    February 15, 2014 /

    A new article by The Wall Street Journal says that officials at Target were made aware of the potential security risks that lead to the November 27 – December 18 attack last year.

    “Target Corp.’s computer security staff raised concerns about vulnerabilities in the retailer’s payment card system at least two months before hackers stole 40 million credit and debit card numbers from its servers, people familiar with the matter said.”

    In Target’s defense, the Journal also reports:

    “The sheer volume of warnings that retailers receive makes it hard to know which to take seriously. Target has an extensive cybersecurity intelligence team, which sees numerous threats each week and could prioritize only so many issues at its monthly steering committee meetings, the former employee said.”

    As an IT professional, I find a report like this to be disappointing.  It’s a constant battle between setting business objectives and setting priorities and “good house keeping” such as installing infrastructure and security upgrades and patches.  Sometimes those priorities get muddy.
    As a Target customer who had their personal data stolen in the breach, I’m more than annoyed to learn that the situation was preventable.  It is also my opinion that most of these types of breaches are preventable with frequent software updates.
    I think security breaches, both large and small, along with the ever growing data stockpile that companies are amassing about their customers is a growing concern for customers and IT departments alike.  We all know that our online habits are being tracked and that companies are collecting an amazing amount of personal data about who we are so that this information can be used to either make more money from you with targeted advertising or by selling the collected information to third-parties.
    While I don’t think that personal data collection will go away anytime soon, if ever, I would hope that as a society, we put new laws and limits on what businesses and clearing houses can do with the data they collect about us.
    Click the source link below to read the full article online (login required).
    [Via WSJ.com…]
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  • apple,  ipad,  ipad 2,  ipad mini

    iPad 2 Production Ramps Down

    February 13, 2014 /

    From AppleInsider:

    “According to people familiar with Apple’s plans, the company has made the decision to ramp down iPad 2 production given that customers are resoundingly shifting purchases towards its more modern and capable iPads, namely the iPad mini and iPad Air.”

    It’s about time.  The iPad mini at the same price as the iPad 2 is such a better deal it should be a no brainer.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

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  • apple,  iphone,  iphone 6,  rumors

    iPhone 6 Rumors, meh

    February 13, 2014 /

    Ok, so the iPhone 5S has been out for about five months now.  It is hard to not notice the Apple rumor sites going full tilt crazy with new rumors and supposed hardware leaks.

    Just in the last few days, we’ve seen an alleged future iPhone chassis, overall thinning due to thinner backlights, new larger sapphire displays, new front and back side cameras from Sony, and a new bezel-free design.  Throw in a healthy does of “iWatch” and AppleTV rumors and any Apple fanboy should be blown out of their iSocks.

    Except I’m not.

    Don’t get me wrong.  I love my iPhone 5S and iPad Air and I’m planning on getting a new MacBook Air this summer.  But I’m having a hard time getting excited about these rumors.

    First of all, the alleged iPhone chassis has already been debunked by eagle-eyed observers.  I’m sure there will be many more faked competent leaks between now and whenever the new phones arrive.  (And I do expect two flavors again this year.)

    For me, I’m more interested in what the software is doing to do.  Apple is putting the final wraps on iOS 7.1.  All indicators are pointing to a March-ish release.  iOS 8 is, I’m sure, already under development.  While component leaks are just part of doing business these days, the software, the real heart and soul of our favorite iDevices, is what’s really interesting.

    Will Apple finally leverage it’s massive iTunes business to process credit card transactions for things other than it’s own goods?  What new delightful features will our iOS devices be able to do in 12 months?

    What about the “iWatch”?  Apple has been bulking up their “wearables” team.  Whatever they have ins store, I’m sure the device or devices will be able to tell time.  I envision an Apple device to be something that might look like a Nike+ FuelBand with with all kinds of interesting sensors inside.  Oh, and a clock.

    Whatever Apple is cooking up in their labs I’m sure it will be interesting, easy to use, and no doubt will delight us.  But as for the iPhone 6?  Meh.  I can wait until June, or September, or whenever Apple gets around to releasing it.

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  • microsoft,  windows 8,  windows 9

    A Few Bits About Windows “Threshold”

    January 13, 2014 /

    Interesting post by Paul Thurrott about the 2015 version of Windows, currently code named “Threshold.”

    Windows 8.1 Service Pack/Feature Pack 1 will be about around the April 2014 timeframe this year.

    During the Microsoft Build 2014 conference, also scheduled for April of this year, “Threshold” should get official as Windows 9.

    Metro 2.0 should be arriving in Windows 9, allowing us to run traditional Windows desktop applications alongside Metro, aka “Modern UI”, applications.

    And, thankfully, the Windows Start button and menu should be back in this release.

    But most interesting, or maybe not, of over the 1 billion traditional desktop and laptop PCs that are out in the wild, there are only 25 million PCs currently running either Windows 8 or Windows 8.1.  Wow.

    With the return of a more traditional Windows Start button and menu, and the ability to run Metro applications in a window next to traditional PC applications, I think Microsoft will be striking the correct balance between tablet and touch-enabled PCs and the traditional keyboard and mouse PCs that are still out there.

    [Via Paul Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows…]

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  • identity theft,  target

    RED Alert:Target Data Breach Impacts 70 Million Customers [Updated]

    January 11, 2014 /

    More bad news from Target this week.  Remember that data breach affecting about 40 million customers in frenzied shopping period that was the run up to Christmas Day?  Ya, that one.

    Well, it turns out Target sort of low balled the number by 30 million.  Target now says that 70 million customers were impacted by the data breach.  This was confirmed by my bank when I received a letter from them on Wednesday evening because I’m one of the recently unreported 30 million customers.

    “Target Corp.’s holiday data breach was bigger than the company had previously said, penetrating more systems and compromising a new set of personal information affecting up to 70 million people. 

    Target said the information was stored separately from the 40 million credit and debit card accounts that the company had previously said were affected. There was some overlap between the two sets of stolen data, but Target didn’t say how extensive it was. The entry point for the attack has been identified and closed, spokeswoman Molly Snyder said.”

    Well isn’t that nice.  The breach point has been closed.  Sigh.  Guess I’ll be paying cash at Target from now on since I can’t trust them to handle my customer information safely.  Oh, and I’ll be asking my bank for a new credit card too.

    Update

    My very nice bank reissued my credit card, which, as it turned out, arrived Saturday afternoon.  If you haven’t received your replacement credit or debit card, call your back on Monday and get your replacement card issued ASAP.

    [Via WSJ.com…]

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  • blackberry

    John Chen Becomes BlackBerry CEO

    January 11, 2014 /

    John Chen, BlackBerry’s best chance at a come back in the smartphone arena, has been named the struggling smartphone maker’s permanent CEO.

    Ian Austen, writing for the New York Times Bits blog:

    “After earnings, and again in meetings with media and analysts at C.E.S., John said that he would be BlackBerry’s C.E.O. until the company is back on solid financial footing,” Mr. Emery wrote. “The search for a CEO has been put on the back burner for now.”

    That is some welcomed news for BlackBerry, it’s investors, users, and fans.  The question of whether Mr. Chen can really pull off the turn around is still yet to be seen, however, he clearly likes a challenge and righting this ship is right up his alley.

    If you might recall, another well noted tech industry was able to right his ship after becoming the “iCEO” of Apple on January 5, 2000.

    [Via NY Times Bits blog…]

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  • gmail,  google

    Tell Google “No” to Google+ Email Integration

    January 11, 2014 /

    This week, Google started turning on by default, Google+ profile to Gmail inbox messaging – even if the Google+ user doesn’t know your Gmail account email address.

    No, Google, I don’t want to use Google+.  No matter how badly you want me to for my personal email.  (This blog does cross posts to Google+.)

    You Gmail account will be impacted by the change when you receive an email from Google stating that the feature has been turned on.

    “Ever wanted to email someone you know, but haven’t yet exchanged email addresses? Starting this week, when you’re composing a new email, Gmail will suggest your Google+ connections as recipients, even if you haven’t exchanged email addresses yet.” 

    Creepy!

    To turn off the feature, log into your Gmail account.  From there, click the “gear” icon near the top right of the Gmail window.  Select the “Settings” menu item.

    Scroll down the list of settings until you see “Email via Google+”.

    To completely turn off the feature, set it to “No one”.  If you choose to leave the feature on, but with some limits, any email being sent to you via Google+ will, for now at least, appear in the “Social” tab in Gmail.

    I’m sure Google will be able to meet it’s goal of integrating Google+ with Gmail – they really haven’t left us a chance with the opt-out setting and many people who don’t read this or other great technology blogs will completely miss this change.

    For me, though, this is getting to be a bit much.  Google’s motto used to be “Don’t be evil” and I started using Google’s services back when that was clear.  Now, with Google well into their advertising business, I’m less sure “Don’t be evil” gets enough air play.

    If you have had enough of Google, you can switch to your iCloud.com email address that comes free with pretty much any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Macintosh.  Apple’s not in the business of advertising.  You can also switch to Microsoft’s Outlook.com or Yahoo Email.  Still, if you really don’t like those options, you can always switch to your ISPs, often, terrible email system or subscribe to a hosted Microsoft Exchange Server account.  (If you do that last one, you can get Exchange Active Sync – EAS back.)

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  • ios,  ipad,  iphone,  productivity,  workflow

    Readdle Scanner Pro for iOS Free This Week

    January 3, 2014 /

    Yup, you read that right!  As part of Apple’s iOS App of the Week promotion, you can snag a copy of Readdle’s Scanner Pro, normally $6.99, for free this week.

    Scanner Pro is one of those applications where it looks cool, but I wasn’t sure if it would fit into my workflow.  Now, with Scanner Pro free this week only, I don’t have to worry about paying the relatively ‘expensive’ $6.99 to find out.

    I downloaded Scanner Pro and tested it out.  It’s super simple to use. You install it, configure iCloud sync support, and then take your first scan.  It’s that easy.

    Once you’ve ‘scanned’ your document, you can send it on to be printed or faxed (who’s still using fax anyway?) or uploaded to a WebDAV server, Dropbox, Evernote, or Google Drive.  You can also send your scanned document on as an email attachment.

    If you like to use productivity apps on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, you will want to grab a copy of Readdle Scanner Pro this week!

    For more details, visit the iOS App Store.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

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