Saturday, December 3, 2016

AWS Snowmobile – Move Exabytes of Data to the Cloud in Weeks


By:Techmaniapress ... 1-12-2016

AWS Snowmobile
AWS Snowmobile

AWS Snowmobile is an Exabyte-scale data transfer service used to move extremely large amounts of data to AWS. You can transfer up to 100PB per Snowmobile, a 45-foot long ruggedized shipping container, pulled by a semi-trailer truck. Snowmobile makes it easy to move massive volumes of data to the cloud, including video libraries, image repositories, or even a complete data center migration. Transferring data with Snowmobile is secure, fast and cost effective.



AWS Snowmobile
AWS Snowmobile
AWS Snowmobile
AWS Snowmobile

After an initial assessment, a Snowmobile will be transported to your data center and AWS personnel will configure it for you so it can be accessed as a network storage target. When your Snowmobile is on site, AWS personnel will work with your team to connect a removable, high-speed network switch from Snowmobile to your local network and you can begin your high-speed data transfer from any number of sources within your data center to the Snowmobile. After your data is loaded, Snowmobile is driven back to AWS where your data is imported into Amazon S3 or Amazon Glacier.




AWS Snowmobile
AWS Snowmobile

 Snowmobile uses multiple layers of security designed to protect your data including dedicated 
security personnel, GPS tracking, alarm monitoring, 24/7 video surveillance, and an optional escort security vehicle while in transit. All data is encrypted with 256-bit encryption keys managed through the AWS Key Management Service (KMS) and designed to ensure both security and full chain-of-custody of your data.



App Review: Enpass, an extremely versatile password manager with extensive cross-platform support

password manager apps reviews
password manager apps 

By Rehan Hooda / 03 Dec 2016 , 11:05


Mobile apps are the cornerstone of the smartphone experience, regardless of the platform that one may use. There has been a lot of talk about the whole moving away from apps to services model with the focus on different type of interactions with machines, AI and services with the imminent arrival of bots. But, bots and the full AI experience as portrayed by HAL 9000 in Space Odyssey or Jarvis in Iron Man still seems a distant dream. Apps, manual input of content and effort will still be around until AI services are improved and self-contained with privacy instead of current ‘need to send everything to a server to make sense.’
Cybersecurity1
To begin with, a lot of development has been happening around cyber security. Specially with demonetisation and lot of people moving online for their banking needs, the need to have secure passwords is pertinent. We have seen that despite numerous reports, instructions and advice by experts and services about the need to create a solid password, majority of the passwords are either ‘Password’ or ‘12345’. Thankfully most services which value consumer data security and privacy have mandatory instructions about the number of lower case characters, upper case characters, numbers and special characters should be added to a password.
Image Credit: EcoEnergy Wipro Twitter
Image Credit: EcoEnergy Wipro Twitter
As the number of digital services increase, the number of passwords and sensitive details like the backup security answers or password recovery code needs to be store also increases. Which the increasing amount of data, the need for password wallets or password managers is paramount. Enpass comes to fit the space brilliantly well.
I have been using the app since last 2-3 years and have seen it all, right from rebranding of the UI to republishing the Android app. Enpass is brilliant in every way and has grown with each update. The app is available on a wide range of platforms including iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows UWP, MacOS, Windows PC, Linux and Chromebook along with a portable pen drive version. The company has also added support for Android Watch and it can be enabled in the Android Watch menu under settings in the Android app.
The app is free to download, however, the mobile apps, for iOS, Android and Blackberry, the company has put a restriction on the number of saved passwords that one can see. The free mobile version of the app only allows users to use and see 20 passwords in your database and beyond that you will need to purchase the app.
Enpass Password Manager Setup
Enpass includes a powerful password generator which lets you generate passwords and save them. It also allows you to tweak the ‘Recipe’ of the password to add in digits, symbols and characters. The app developer has added fingerprint API support for Android and TouchID support for iOS along with an Enpass keyboard for Android where you can authenticate and enter login details in any app using the autofill of the keyboard. Also, the company has added ‘tap to enter login details’ in the app. This feature dubbed as ‘Enpass Autofill Service’ uses the Android Accessibility feature and gives you a ‘Tap to fill’ notification in the notification drawer.
Enpass Password Manager Setup
While adding a new password, it will ask you to select the category of the password where the app provides a template for the data that you can store. You can change the icon of the password to match your service and also add new Field or reorder fields according to your preference.
The exception system of the app is a combination of open source and proprietary code to maximize the security. AES-256 is an industrial standard used by military and 24,000 rounds of PBKDF2 provides users advanced protection against brute force and side channel attacks.
Enpass Password Manager Setup
The app comes with a built-in browser where you can browse the web and Enpass takes care of all the passwords you will use on the internet. The app gives the option to change the User Agent String in the app along with the search engine of the browser. You can open the app and copy passwords and paste them on other apps, but also adds an option to clear the clipboard after specified time.
Enpass Password Manager Setup
Security and Browser options in Settings menu
The most important feature of the app and which I love is the app gives you an option to store the data file on the cloud service of your liking and nothing is stored on Enpass servers. All the data is encrypted with 256-bit AES encryption with 24,000 rounds of PBKDF2 and open-source SQLCipher encryption engine. You can store it on your Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, Folder or WebDAV or ownCloud. Before you start, you are required to set a Master Password which will be used to unlock the encrypted data file. Once set and running, you can set a pin code or fingerprint under the security section.
Even though the app is overall solid and the developer issues updated regularly to introduce new features and fix bugs, I wish that the Enpass Keyboard experience is improved to ensure that one doesn’t have to authenticate the app 2-3 times to enter two simple details.
Enpass Password Manager Setup
Restoring data after Install
Another important feature is the option to backup as well as restore the data over Wi-Fi, which means you can keep the data on a secure pen drive or hard drive and restore and backup the new passwords to the database to external storage or a secure private Wi-Fi. The app is free on desktop and costs $9.99 per platform and I have purchased it on all the mobile platforms that I use. Though $9.99 is slightly on steep side, the amount of functionality offered by the app does complete justice to the pricing.
Do let us know any apps worth recommending in the comments section below.

Facebook working on Snapchat-like Discover feature

Facebook Snapchat
Facebook Snapchat 

03 Dec 2016 , 15:38


In yet another attempt to take on photo sharing mobile service Snapchat, Facebook is working on a new feature which will showcase lists of curated content from publishers directly in the News Feed.
“The feature called ‘Collections’ functions similarly to Snapchat’s Discover section, showcasing news stories, videos and the company is reportedly asking publishers to create more content,” technology website mashable.com reported on Saturday.
Social networks have become a popular source of news for many, trailing only TV as a top source of information.
The move for the new publisher programme comes at a time when Facebook is trying to struggle between high-quality content from established media and fake news stories that go viral across the social network.
Earlier this year, Facebook has joined a network of more than 30 international media companies and organisations in an effort to filter out fake news stories and to improve the quality of information found online.
Seen everyday by more than 150 million users, Snapchat’s Discover feature lets users stumble upon channels from top publishers who curate content daily, watch ‘Live Stories’ from an event.
“Facebook, which has 1.8 billion users has told early ‘Collections’ partners that the content they create will be inserted directly into the News Feed, effectively giving them direct and potentially much broader access to the social network’s vast audience,” the report added.
IANS

Russian central bank loses $31 million in cyber attack

Russian central bank
Russian central bank cyber attack

03 Dec 2016 , 08:43


Hackers stole more than 2 billion rubles ($31 million) from correspondent accounts at the Russian central bank, the bank said on Friday, the latest example of an escalation of cyber attacks on financial institutions around the globe.
Central bank official Artyom Sychyov discussed the losses at a briefing, saying that the hackers had attempted to steal about 5 billion rubles.
Sychyov was commenting on a central bank report released earlier in the day, that told about hackers breaking into accounts there by faking a client’s credentials. The bank provided few other details in its lengthy report.
Financial regulators around the world have recently urged banks to beef up cyber security in the wake of a string of high-profile heists on banks around the world.
Fears about attacks on banks have mounted since February when unknown cyber criminals stole $81 million in funds that Bangladesh’s central bank had on deposit at the New York Fed. Law enforcement agencies around the globe are hunting for the criminals who stole the money using fraudulent wire-transfer requests sent over the SWIFT bank messaging network.
Separately, Russia said on Friday that it had uncovered a plot by foreign spy agencies to sow chaos in the country’s banking system via a coordinated wave of cyber attacks and fake social media reports about banks going bust.
Reuters

Ford recalls about 650,000 vehicles to fix seat belt part

Ford recalls
Ford recalls

03 Dec 2016 , 08:42


Ford Motor Co said on Friday it was recalling about 650,000 vehicles in North America to fix issues that could prevent seat belts from functioning properly in a crash.
The recall includes certain 2013-16 Ford Fusion, 2015-16 Ford Mondeo and 2013-15 Lincoln MKZ cars, Ford said. In the affected vehicles, increased temperatures generated during deployment of the seat belt anchor pretensioner cables could cause them to separate, potentially reducing the seat belt’s ability to adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, Ford said.
Meanwhile, a recent report said that Bill Ford told Donald Trump that the company is not moving Lincoln SUV production to Mexico. Ford has repeatedly said it has no plans to close any U.S. plants and likely could not do so under the terms of the current United Auto Workers contract that expires in 2019. Ford spokeswoman Christin Baker said late on Thursday the automaker “confirmed with the President-elect that our small Lincoln utility vehicle made at the Louisville Assembly plant will stay in Kentucky.”
With input from Reuters

Huawei announces upgrade plans for Android 7.0 Nougat

Huawei  Android
Huawei  Android 7.0 Nougat

By 
The year is almost ending and you know what that means, Android based smartphone vendors start rushing in to bring new update to their products. Chinese handset and network equipment maker Huawei managed to gain a strong position in the global market this year and now it has officially announced its plans for the new Android 7.0 Nougat update.
The new update for Huawei devices will arrive in the form of version 5.0 of the Chinese company’s EMUI skin. The company has said that the roll-out should begin sometime in Q1, 2017. The first handsets to get the update will be  the Huawei Mate 8 and P9. These will be followed by the P9 Plus, P9 lite, nova, and nova Plus.
Huawei claims that the new EMUI 5.0 will be more efficient, secure, and user friendly. It significantly cuts down on the number of steps needed to achieve the desired function and the user can reach 90 percent of the core functions in just two to three clicks. That does sound interesting but the company will have to be careful as changing a smartphone users habit can be difficult.
The new UI will also let users choose between the standard layout and an app drawer. The company said in a press release, “Additionally, users can jump between their professional and personal lives effortlessly with profiles now being able to run in parallel – no switching of phones necessary.”
Owners of the Huawei P9, P9 Plus, P9 Lite or Mate 8 will also able to participate in the beta testing. There is no news for the Android 7.0 update on the Honor line of smartphones from Huawei.

Google Play reveals the Best of 2016: Pokémon Go, Game of Thrones and more

 Pokémon Go
Google Play Pokémon Go

By 
As we draw closer to the year end, Google has decided to release a list of its top trending apps, games, books, TV shows and movies for the year 2016.
It has released the top apps global as well as for India. Google Play India saw BeautyPlus Me – Perfect Camera and Voot TV Shows Movies Cartoons on the top of the trending apps chart, further indicating the extent of love for selfies by Indians. Love for Bollywood put Salman Khan starrer Sultan’s official game Sultan: The Game con the number two spot while Train Simulator 2016 took the top spot.
BeautyPlus Me – Perfect Camera
BeautyPlus Me – Perfect Camera
Here’s the complete Google Play India winners list:
The Martian
The Martian
Top 5 Movies of 2016
1) The Martian
2) Sultan
3) The Jungle Book
4) The Intern
5) Deadpool
Cometh the Hour
Talking of the global list, a closer look and you will notice Deadpool and “Deadpool Kills the Universe” dominated the movie and book charts this year. Game of Thrones topped the chart when it comes to TV shows as it managed to keep The Walking Dead away  while Twenty One Pilots’ ‘Stressed Out’ as their single came in as the number one most streamed song of the year, followed by Justin Bieber. In the gaming world, Pokemon GO ruled and sits right at the top of the charts.
Take a look at the complete list below:
Top Trending Games of 2016
1) Pokémon GO
2) Clash Royale
3) Traffic Rider
4) slither.io
5) Dream League Soccer
Pokemon GO Tech2
Top 5 Streamed songs of 2016
1) Stressed Out, Twenty One Pilots
2) Sorry, Justin Bieber
3) One Dance (feat. WizKid & Kyla), Drake
4) Don’t Let Me Down (feat. Daya), The Chainsmokers
5) Me, Myself & I, G-Eazy
Top 5 Movies of 2016
1) Deadpool
2) Star Wars: The Force Awakens
3) Zootopia
4) Captain America: Civil War
5) Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice
Top 5 TV shows of 2016
1) Game of Thrones
2) The Walking Dead
3) The Big Bang Theory
4) Mr. Robot
5) The Flash
Face Changer 2
Face Changer

Hackers can hack any Visa credit card or debit card in six seconds

Visa credit hacked
Visa credit hacked

02 Dec 2016 , 14:50


It can take hackers just six seconds, a laptop and an internet connection to hack any Visa credit or debit card, new research has revealed. The research, published in the journal “IEEE Security and Privacy”, said that the “distributed guessing attack” circumvents all the security features put in place to protect online payments from fraud. Neither the network, nor the banks are able to detect attackers making multiple, invalid attempts to get payment card data.
The current online payment system does not detect multiple invalid payment requests from different websites. This allows unlimited guesses on each card data field, using up to the allowed number of attempts – typically 10 or 20 guesses – on each website, explained Mohammed Ali, a PhD student in Newcastle University.
“Different websites ask for different variations in the card data fields to validate an online purchase. “This means it’s quite easy to build up the information and piece it together like a jigsaw,” Ali added. The combination of these two factors — unlimited guesses and variation in the payment data fields — makes it easy for attackers to hack all the card details.
Each generated card field can be used in succession to generate the next field and so on. “If the hits are spread across enough websites then a positive response to each question can be received within two seconds – just like any online payment,” Ali warned.
The researchers explained that even starting with no details at all other than the first six digits — which tell you the bank and card type — a hacker can obtain essential pieces of information. These are — card number, expiry date and security code — to make an online purchase within as little as six seconds. Researchers believe this ‘guessing attack’ method could have been used in the recent Tesco cyber attack where the hackers defrauded customers of 2.5 million pounds.
The risk is higher at this time of the year as many people are making online purchases ahead of Christmas. However, researchers found that unlike Visa cards, MasterCard’s centralised network was able to detect the guessing attack after less than 10 attempts – even when those payments were distributed across multiple networks.
The researchers suggested that to minimise the chances of hacking, card-holders should use just one card for online payments and keep the spending limit on that account as low as possible. “If it’s a bank card then keep ready funds to a minimum and transfer over money as you need it,” said Martin Emms, co-author of the research.
IANS

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...